


Albus Potter and the Dark Lord's Prince

by TheHuntress25



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Drama, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Humor, Mental Instability, Mild Language, Multi, Original Character Death(s), Other, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-04
Updated: 2016-06-23
Packaged: 2018-07-12 02:42:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 82,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7081666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheHuntress25/pseuds/TheHuntress25
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Things have changed in the past twenty years since the end of the War but Albus Potter feels as if he is suffering from far too many expectations on his first ever year at Hogwarts. With dark things happening around him and two unlikely friends at his side, he must overcome his faults, the horror of pink panties, and solve a murder that's happening just around the corner.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. On the Hogwarts Express

 

Albus Severus Potter felt, not for the first or second time, an inexplicable ache in the pit of his stomach. Dozens of would-be Hogwarts students passed him on his way to a compartment, talking to friends, showing off cats or else grumbling about the lack of space and because he was so caught up in his own thoughts, he failed to notice the stares he was getting.

Of course, considering who his father was he couldn’t help but feel a little annoyance go down his spine as a girl burst into giggles and ran off to join her friends but he didn’t say anything to it. After all, when your father was Harry Potter, the boy who defeated Lord Voldemort, the darkest wizard in nearly a century so long ago, you couldn’t help but be noticed and it didn’t help that Albus looked a lot like his father.

Minus the round glasses and the scar, he was his exact double and that was saying something because the messy hair and emerald green eyes were the same as his father’s.

His brother James had inherited the messy hair as well but he usually tamed it well and with his dark hair and brown eyes, he looked less like their father, but didn’t let that bother him as much as looking like him bothered Albus.

People assumed that just because his father had been famous that he, Albus, was supposed to do great things and be famous as well and there was no way that was going to happen if he couldn’t even settle his stomach. Even if it did, how was he going to ever be as famous or as well known?

Voldemort had been dead for nearly twenty years, Death Eaters were rotting in Azkaban, the wizard prison and the peace that was reigning over the Wizarding world didn’t look as if it would be shattering anytime soon.

Trying not to look too queasy, Albus shoved and pushed his way to a near empty compartment and looked inside. A boy with pale blonde hair and a pointed chin was sitting morosely in a corner and he barely paid Albus a look as he sat down and divested of his trunk and owl, who hooted in greeting.

“Hogwarts sounds pretty exciting doesn’t it?” Albus asked the boy.

The boy grunted.

Albus shifted in his seat. “I’m really nervous, how bout you?”

Again, the boy said nothing.

Giving up on him, Albus sat and watched the scenery for a while and he was so lost, so blissfully swimming in his own nerves that he barely heard the compartment door open again. “There you are, Albus!” a girl cried.

He looked and felt a smile tugging at his lips. “Were you looking for me?”

Rose Weasely nodded fervently as she came farther into the compartment, her own luggage causing her a bit of trouble. “I thought we’d lost you. Why did you run off?”

“I didn’t run off,” Albus said.

Rose shrugged a little but gave him an encouraging grin. “There’s nothing to be afraid of, Al, everything will be just fine. Hogwarts is going to be amazing! Mum and Dad told me and Hugo all about it!”

Albus thought of her younger brother, who would be starting Hogwarts in another two years with his younger sister Lily. “It’s not really as bad as James was saying, is it?” he asked.

His older brother had told him horrors about the school and he was feeling sweat breaking out on his forehead just thinking about it. “You know how James is. He made up a lot of that stuff. I don’t even think there are any giant spiders in the Forbidden Forest anymore.”

Albus blanched. “Giant spiders?”

Rose nodded and sat down opposite him and pulled a book from the inside of her robes. “I’ve been reading the book my mum made. You know the one? A revised History of Magic?”

How could he not know about it, his Aunt Hermione never ceased talking about it on the times that they all got together. She was forever revising, editing and writing more than any decent person should, “Your mum’s hand is going to fall off.”

“That’s what Hugo said.”

“Well, it’s true. But you’re just as bad, all you do is write,” Albus said as she opened the large book and began reading.

Rose frowned at him. “I sketch, there’s a difference. And it’s better than all you guys, throwing Dungbombs everywhere and trying to teach the garden gnomes swear words.”

“Uncle George said that they already know most of them. James and I thought they could learn a few more, what’s the harm?” Albus said.

She rolled her eyes at him. Rose looked a lot like her mother, she had inherited the same bushy hair but instead of the deep brown that her mother owned, her own hair was red and she had a few freckles on her cheeks. “The harm is that they keep sneaking into the garden and eating the vegetables while swearing at the top of their lungs when you try to toss him!”

Albus laughed.

Rose rolled her eyes and went back to her book. “Honestly.”

The compartment door opened again and James walked in, “Still feeling sick?” he asked Albus with a grin.

Albus frowned at him. “I’m not sick!”

“Well, you will be once we get to Hogwarts. I hear they have sea serpents in the Black Lake now. You’ll be going on the boats so you’d best be careful.” James said with a wide smile.

Rose looked up at him. “Oh, stop it James. It’s not going to be like that! Isn’t it bad enough that you keep teasing him about which House he’s going to be in?”

James looked at her. “You don’t seem all that concerned do you?”

“I’m not! I know I’ll be in Gryffindor!” Rose huffed.

James was already in the legendary House but he didn’t look all too enthused with her proclamation. “You’ll be in Ravenclaw. Brains always go to Ravenclaw!”

“And what’s wrong with that?” Rose asked.

“Brains aren’t as good as brawn you know.” James said.

“Well, my mum’s brain saved your dad’s life more than once and she was in Gryffindor!” Rose said hotly. “And Grandpa and Grandma, Aunt Ginny and nearly our whole family!”

Albus was going to be the exception, he knew it. “Yeah, James, you don’t know what’s going to happen.”

“Well, the Sorting Hat is going to be the one to choose.” James said while giving them both a smirk. “And it’s gonna put you in Slytherin, Al, we all know it.”

Rose frowned. “Oh, really! That’s enough!”

Albus swallowed hard. “So what if I am in Slytherin? Dad said that it’s not so bad!” he snapped.

James thought about that. “All Dark Wizards from the old days came from there. You don’t really want to be in there, do you?”

Albus didn’t but he wasn’t going to tell him that. “I won’t be so it’s not that big of a deal.” He said.

The morose, pale blonde boy suddenly looked up. “Both my parents were in Slytherin and most all Dark Wizards did come from there, trust me, I know.”

Rose jumped a little at the sound of his voice. “Why would you say something like that? It can’t be true.”

The boy looked over at her, grey eyes narrowed. “My mum and dad were in full support of Voldemort when he was in power.”

Albus and James looked at each other and then at the boy with mutual shock and awe, they had never known anyone else to say the Dark Lord’s name.

Over the years the fear had been hugely diminished but there was still a few that were too afraid to say his name, although their own father never hesitated to say it whenever the old days were brought up. “Your mum and dad were Death Eaters?”

“Don’t know about my mum, but my dad has the Mark. Tries not to let me or my little sister see it,” the boy said. “But I have.”

James was curious. “Who are your mum and dad?”

The boy was picking at his robes annoyingly. “Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson,” he said distantly, “but they’re divorced.”

Rose and the boys looked at each other in horror and rage.

They had each heard about Draco Malfoy from their parents and the stories ranged from childish pranks and then to malicious bullying and the fact that they were now sitting in the same compartment with his son made them all tense.

But he didn’t look as mean or as snide as the way Albus’s father had been described, “You’re Scorpious Malfoy. I thought you were a year younger than us.” Rose said.

“Shame, isn’t it?” Scorpious asked.

James looked at Rose and Albus. “Come sit with me and my friends, I don’t think it’s a good idea to be sitting anywhere near him.” He jerked his thumb at Scorpious.

“I won’t blame you if you left,” he said.

Albus stared at him in astonishment, ignoring James. “You don’t look like you like being a Malfoy. How come?”

That seemed to jar the boy farther out of his own thoughts.

He sat up suddenly, ignoring Rose as she moved away, “Would you like knowing that your dad and mum supported Voldemort and then have people thinking that you have to be evil because you’re related to them? Would you like knowing that your grandfather tortured Muggles and said that word?”

They of course knew the word he had meant was “Mudblood”, a nasty insult that described Muggle born witches and wizards. It had caused a ripple of fear in the old days when the Dark Lord had used his power to hunt and kill them, or else, thrown them in Azkaban, “I didn’t mean anything.”

Scorpious snorted. “It doesn’t matter. Everyone already thinks I’m evil anyway.”

“Look pretty harmless to me.” Albus said.

“Sure I do.”

“You’re not going to be in Slytherin are you?” Albus asked.

“I hope not. My whole family has been in Slytherin, I don’t stand a chance,” Scorpious said.

Albus oddly felt a bit of friendly feeling towards him, it seemed like they were going through the same thing, though for opposite reasons. “Well, I don’t think you’re evil.”

“Of course he is. Come on, you two, you can sit with me and my friends,” James said pompously.

Rose gathered up her things. “Come on Albus,”

Albus settled harder into his seat. “No, I think I’ll stay.”

James gaped at him. “Why?”

“Why not? There’s hardly any room as it is,” Albus said.

Rose looked at Scorpious warily. “Come on, Albus. Your mum and dad won’t like you talking to him.”

“Well, they’re not here. So don’t worry about it, okay?” Albus said.

James glowered at him for a while but decided that it would be best not to get into a fight about it. Motioning for Rose to follow him, he said, “You’d better not do anything stupid, Al. Or I’ll tell mum and dad.”

“I won’t.” He said.

Rose gave him another worried look but she left a little while later with James, lugging all of her things with her. When they were gone, Scorpious asked, “Who is that girl?”

“My cousin,” Albus said.

“Oh,” Scorpious said.

Albus stared at him for a while. “You know, you’re not really all that bad if you ask me.”

“Be careful, everyone says I’ve already been born with the Dark Mark on my arm.” Scorpious said, “they think I’m gonna go bad. When I was getting my wand, the old shopkeeper kept staring at me like I was gonna use an Unforgivable curse on him.”

Albus thought of the wand maker, Ollivander and felt a bit of a chill go down his back. He was very old but he carried himself like a mystic that had been transported from a faraway land, but it was his misty white eyes that was a little spooky, he never seemed to blink. “Why would he look at you like that?”

Scorpious tightened his lips. “I’d rather not say.”

“All right.”

They sat in a long silence for a while, watching the scenery go by and for a while it was very quiet except for the hooting of Albus’s owl. After what felt like an eternity, Scorpious finally spoke again. “Your dads Harry Potter right?”

Albus felt that familiar annoyance go down his back. He was going to ask what it was like living with the great Harry Potter and then ask if he could have his father sign something for him, like so many others had done before him, “Yeah.” He said.

“You look a lot like him. Except for the glasses,” Scorpious said. “Everyone says I look like my dad too, but I don’t like to. As soon as we start human Transfiguration I’m gonna change my whole face.”

“Why would you do that? It won’t last. And we won’t start that until sixth year,” Albus said.

“It’ll be worth it to walk around not looking like him for a day.” Scorpious said with a frown. “You have to know what I mean.”

He did know what he meant but he couldn’t imagine changing his face. Albus didn’t hate his father at all but he sensed that Scorpious had a deep loathing for his own, “So what House would you like to be in once we get to Hogwarts?”

“I dunno. Anything is better than Slytherin.”

“Maybe we can both try for Gryffindor.”

“You think we can do that?” Scorpious asked. “My mum and dad will be disappointed if I’m in Hufflepuff, I know that.”

For some reason, no one really wanted to be in that House but Albus knew that the Head of the house, Professor McMillan was a really cool person. Albus had seen pictures of him at home with his aunt Hermione, his uncle Ron and his father after the battle that had started the years of peace.

They’d all been bloody and dirty and the wreckage of Hogwarts had been a shock to Albus and Lily when they first started looking at them but after a moment that seemed to fade as they had taken in all the smiling faces of kids long since grown up.

Professor McMillan had been there, along with Professor Longbottom, who taught Herbology and Professor Lovegood, who taught Divination.

They’d all been waving and laughing with a large group of kids that had called themselves Dumbledore’s Army and from what Albus could gather from his mother and father; they still got together at the Leaky Cauldron to talk about old times.

Albus wouldn’t really mind where he was put, as long as it wasn’t in Slytherin, “I don’t wanna be in Slytherin either. A lot of the other kids there are gonna be kids of Death Eaters and they’ll try to poison me you know, because of my dad.”

“They might try to poison me too.” Scorpious said with a weak smile.

Albus stared at him in amazement as another compartment opened and some people started laughing and giggling. “How come?”

Scorpious looked around to make sure that no one was around but since they were alone in the compartment, it seemed unlikely that anyone would show. “Well, you know how I told you my mum and dad got a divorce?”

Albus nodded. “Yeah,”

There was a short pause. “Well, my dad met another woman while he was at the Ministry of Magic, and well, one thing led to another.” He blushed a little, “she’s well, well, she’s Muggle born and it caused a lot of arguments and stuff.”

Albus could see why he was worried someone might hear. He would have never thought from what his father had told him about Draco Malfoy that he would ever marry a Muggle born girl, so this was very surprising and it was very doubtful that his father knew about it yet. It would be big news. “Weren’t you with your mum and dad on the platform?”

“Yeah, she wanted to see me off and since my dad was already there they didn’t want to get into some kinda fight in public,” Scorpious said.

Albus nodded. “Slytherin kids would try to poison you because of that thing with your dad and your step-mum?”

Scorpious nodded. “I think they would. It doesn’t help that my dad has started making more of an effort for Muggle born rights and everything.” He didn’t look upset by the news, “but a lot of people don’t believe in his work because of who he is and what my granddad did when he was young.”

Albus couldn’t imagine the stigma. “Well, at least your dad has changed.”

“Yeah, I guess. I don’t hate my step-mum or anything like that but it’s just awkward you know? They just got married a year ago and I had to go and my mum didn’t want me to and she started crying and everything.” His lips tightened again. “It’s just really, really—”

“Hard. Yeah, I can understand that. My mum and dad don’t argue very much but I know I would be feeling upset if they ever got divorced.” Albus couldn’t even begin to imagine it.

Scorpious seemed a bit better than he had been and smiled for the first time, relaxing. “I bet its cool living with your mum and dad. Get to go to Quidditch practices all the time right?”

Quidditch was one of the best sports in the world in Albus’s opinion and involved seven players on broomsticks, three Chasers, two Beaters, a Keeper and a Seeker. He was unsure if he would try out for it himself but he was dying to get on a broomstick, it was a shame that they couldn’t have them first year, “It’s really great, but my mum doesn’t play as much as she used to. She likes teaching kids about dueling and everything nowadays,”

“Your mom started her own Quidditch team didn’t she?” Scorpious asked.

“Yeah, she did. The Wailing Banshees,” Albus said.

Scorpious seemed impressed. “I’d like to start my own Quidditch team. Don’t know if I’ll be good on a broom, haven’t practiced as much over the summer.”

“Well, maybe you’ll be able to practice this summer and then next year you can try out.” Albus said. “I know I’m going to practice a little.

“Sounds like fun, once we’re old enough to play.” Scorpious said, “Your whole family sounds really cool. Isn’t one of your uncles an Auror?”

Auror’s were Dark Wizard catchers and even though it had been twenty years since the fall of the Dark Lord, there were still a lot of his followers walking around in the open that hadn’t been caught the few years after the final battle. How they had escaped Albus couldn’t figure but he knew that they were still there, his father had said so himself and had even gone after them for a few years, being an Auror himself. “My dad and Uncle Ron are both Auror’s.”

“And one of them owns Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes right?” Scorpious asked, mentioning the famous joke shop that was located in Diagon Alley.

“My Uncle George and his brother started it.” Albus said.

“Wow, I bet they have a lot of fun.” Scorpious said.

“Well, it’s just my Uncle George, his twin died in the battle,” Albus said uncomfortably.

Scorpious sobered. “I’m sorry. I know a lot of people died that night, my dad won’t even talk about it much. He just says that he doesn’t want it to happen again while he’s still around,”

Albus stared at him. “Why?”

“Well, he never says.” Scorpious said. “But I bet it’s because he was a stinking coward the whole time the battle was going on.” His tone was bitter, “I could gather that much from what my granddad used to say.”

Albus swallowed, his own father had said the same thing. “Used to say?”

Scorpious waved his hand dismissively, “They had a falling out a long time ago but my granddad won’t even talk to him since he married the Muggle born lady. Grandma isn’t as bad but she doesn’t like it either, I still see her sometimes on holiday.”

Albus wondered what it was like at his home on the holidays. His own were filled with laughter and good fun with his slew of cousins and his grandma Molly’s cooking, presents and a happiness that lasted for days, “Hey, I’m getting kinda hungry. Can’t wait for trolley,” he said in a desperate attempt to change the subject.

Scorpious didn’t seem to mind though. “What do you think the food will be like at Hogwarts?”

“I don’t know. I hope it’s good.”

“Do you think that we’ll both be in Gryffindor?” Scorpious asked.

Albus shrugged, “I hope so. Anything but—”

“Slytherin,” Scorpious said with a laugh.

They passed an enjoyable afternoon talking, laughing and playing Exploding Snap and by the time the lunch trolley arrived Albus was certain that he was going to be sorely disappointed if he and Scorpious weren’t in the same House. “Anything from the trolley?” the little old woman asked sweetly.

Albus fished inside his pants pocket for his money. “Hold on a minute.”

Scorpious was already looking at the candy and sweets, “A packet of Droobles, four Pumpkin Pasties, a box of Berti Botts Every Flavor Beans and four Chocolate Frogs.” He seemed as though he were thinking about something. “Could you throw in a licorice wand too?”

The woman nodded and handed him the sweets in a little bag, “That’ll be five Galleons and two Sickles please.”

Scorpious fished inside of his robes and handed her the money absently while taking the little bag from her. Albus walked up to her and ordered as much as he could get without being completely broke and when she toddled away he was so hungry that he nearly at the wrapper on a pumpkin pasty, “I didn’t know how hungry I could be.” He said.

Scorpious dumped his things on the bench. “I got all this for us. You didn’t have to spend your money.” He said.

Albus shrugged. “It’s not a problem. At least we won’t get hungry, huh?”

They ate in mutual enjoyment and after feasting for what felt like ages they finally pulled out some of the cards from the Chocolate Frogs. Albus looked down at a few of them and stared at a moving picture of a stern older woman with graying black hair and piercing dark eyes that were hidden behind spectacles, “Minerva McGonagall is currently the Headmistress of Hogwarts, known member of the Order of the Phoenix—”

“What’s that?” Scorpios asked around a chunk of chocolate.

“It’s a secret society that was made when they first fought Voldemort.” Albus said while looking at the card. “It says that she’s a really powerful witch and was there when Voldemort was killed by my dad.”

“Wow.” Scorpious said, “I got a guy with your name on it. Classic card,” he said while handing it, sticky and wet with sugar, to Albus.

He already knew who it was since he was named after him but he took the card anyway and stared at the face of an old wizard with twinkling blue eyes and a crooked nose. A polite smile was on his face as he looked up at Albus from half-moon spectacles, “That’s Albus Dumbledore. My dad knew him really well.”

Scorpious stared at him for a while. “My dad said he was eccentric.”

“I think one of my uncles said that too but my dad said that he was a great man.” Albus wondered if he would ever be famous or interesting enough to be put on the back of a card like this.

“He was in Gryffindor I think.” Scorpious said. “And isn’t it kind of pitiful that Voldemort was in Slytherin?”

Albus couldn’t help but smirk. “But Voldemort is dead and even still, I don’t think that everyone from Slytherin was bad.”

“You think so?” Scorpious asked.

“Yeah, there was this man, Severus Snape. I’m named after him too, he was in Slytherin and he did some pretty great things, and he was really brave.” Albus said with a smile, feeling a bit of calm settle over his knotted stomach.

Scorpious smiled a little, relieved by this as well. “My dad talks about him sometimes, he said he was a good Potions teacher.”

“I don’t think I’ll be very good at Potions,” Albus said.

“Me neither. Let’s fail together, all right?” Scorpious joked.

Albus was about to reply when the compartment door opened again but this time it wasn’t Rose or James that came in. Instead, the small space was filled to the brim by a hulking boy who had to be as tall as he was wide, with a sneering face and a bowl cut haircut that made his features seem oddly exaggerated. “Well, well.” He said, “Didn’t expect you to be here.”

Scorpious seemed to know who he was, though Albus was already feeling like he should get his wand out. “Thought you were going to Durmstrang, Goyle,”

Goyle smiled meanly at him. “My mum didn’t want me being so far away. How is your mum anyway? Still upset about that Mudblood taking your dad away?”

Albus stood up. “If you don’t have any business here, leave.”

Scorpious was holding up his wand. “Get out and don’t say that word.”

“Or what?” Goyle asked. “Daddy’ll get me into trouble? My dad works at the Ministry too.”

“So what if he does. My dad can take him anytime.” Albus said.

Goyle sneered at him. “I thought you’d say that. Think you’re so cool, don’t you? Think that just because your dads all famous that you can talk to me anyway you like, huh?” he asked. “You’re not even pureblood.”

“So what if he’s not? Get out, Goyle or I’ll hex you.” Scorpious said nastily.

“Try it!” Goyle snapped while taking out his wand.

Before any of them could do a thing, someone else asked. “Is there a problem?”

Goyle jolted at the sight of James and Rose standing at his side. He was so big that it had been hard to see them, “I’m out of here. See you at Hogwarts,” he sneered at Scorpious and Albus.

They watched him go.

“Do you even know any spells?” Albus asked him.

“No. You?” Scorpious asked.

“Not a chance.” Albus muttered.

James stepped in with Rose, “What are you two doing getting into fights already? And with a Death Eater kid?” he asked, “You two’ll be dead before we even get there.”

Albus plopped back down. “I didn’t even do anything, he came in here.”

Rose looked at him. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Why?” Albus asked.

“Well, we’ll be at Hogwarts soon, I wanted to see if you’d gotten all your things and your robe on.” She said, “But you’re too busy getting into fights.”

Albus rolled his eyes. “I wasn’t fighting anyone.”

“Getting him into trouble, huh?” James asked Scorpious.

Scorpious ignored him. “Let’s get our things on.”

“I’m gonna stay and make sure you two actually do it.” Rose said.

“You wanna see us naked?” Scorpious asked annoyingly.

She blushed. “No, of course not,”

Albus laughed. “We’ll be fine, Rose, relax.”

“If you say so,” She said while walking out.

James watched her go but he didn’t speak for a while as he watched the two of them struggling into the folds of their robes. “I’m gonna tell mum and dad you know,” he said while looking at Scorpious warily. “They’re not gonna like that you’re getting into fights and stuff.”

“I wasn’t fighting anyone!” Albus snapped. “And who cares anyway? It’s not like he would have done anything.”

“I’m not so sure of that.” James said but Scorpious snorted. “Think it’s funny, huh? Well, I don’t like my brother being involved with someone like you.”

Scorpious frowned. “You’re not the first person to say that to me and you’re not gonna be the last. And anyway, Albus and I aren’t gonna blow up the train or anything.”

James glared at him for a second or two before saying to Albus, “You’d better get ready you know. Those sea serpents aren’t gonna feed themselves.”

Albus was about to retort something but he was already gone. With his robes on and his hands gripping his wand he felt the familiar bite of anxiety tugging at his stomach again and he tried to ignore it. “How do you know that kid anyway?”

“Grew up together for a while. Dad changed heart and we fell out,” Scorpious said while looking at his wand. “I would have really liked to have given this thing a go.”

Albus hoped that they wouldn’t’ be seeing too much of that Goyle person again but he hoped, on the other hand that he wasn’t jinxing them. “Well, we’re gonna be at Hogwarts soon. You’ll get plenty of practice there.” His stomach knotted again and he felt his forehead break out in a thin line of sweat, the moment had arrived at last.

 


	2. The Sorting Hats Choice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys are Sorted, crushes are made and enemies are realized for the next few years...

The train slowed to a stop. Albus and Scorpious followed a slew of other students as they disembarked and stepped out into the cold night air, the fog obscuring many faces but here and there Albus could hear conversations.

“I’m gonna be in Gryffindor, like me dad,” a boy with sandy hair was saying next to a pretty girl with long black hair. “He says that if I’m not he’ll disown me.”

Albus grinned a little because that was what his Uncle Ron had told Rose a few hours ago. It was odd to think that they all were so far away now and he wouldn’t be seeing them again until Christmas, “Was your mum and dad both in Gryffindor?” he asked the boy.

“Dad was in Gryffindor, me mum was in Hufflepuff.” The boy said while holding out his hand for Albus to shake, “I’m Chris Finnegan.”

“Albus Potter,” he said.

“Blimey! I thought it would be a long time for me to meet you. Wow, it’s really nice to meet you, better be in Gryffindor!” Chris Finnegan said.

Scorpious was trying not to be noticed but the pretty girl with the black hair was eyeing him curiously. “You’re that Malfoy boy aren’t you?” she asked him. “I know all about you, my mum and dad were telling me that you’ll be in Slytherin, just like everyone else who was a Death Eater.”

“Hey, don’t say that.” Albus said angrily. “He won’t be in Slytherin and he’s not gonna be a Death Eater.”

The girl pursed her lips a little. “I’m gonna be in Ravenclaw so we’ll never see each other anyway.” She walked off with her head in the air.

Scorpious groaned. “It’s just going to get worse.”

Albus nudged him. “You’re not gonna be in Slytherin!”

Up ahead, a booming voice was calling for order and a large lantern was being held up over the fog. “Firs’ years over here! Come on now, firs’ years follow me!”

Albus felt a joyous swoop in his heart at the sound of that voice. He would know it anywhere and without waiting for Scorpious to catch up he called, “Hey, Hagrid!”

Hagrid was the largest and widest man that Albus had ever seen and when he had been smaller he’d been able to sit in the palm of his hand. He was wearing a large moleskin coat and his wiry black hair obscured the rest of his face, where only his eyes were visible and though Albus was told that he was half giant; he had never known a kinder person. “Make it here all right, huh? Good ter see yeh, Albus. Excited?” he asked.

“Yeah, bit nervous. There aren’t any sea monsters are there, Hagrid?” Albus asked while they were led away.

Hagrid laughed. “James telling yeh, lies again huh? From what I can tell there aren’t no sea monsters in there. Giant squid had a couple of babies a few years back,”

“Giant squid?” Albus croaked.

“And the mermaids are all right I s’pose but you won’t be seein’ them at all.” Hagrid smiled down at him. “Everything will be just fine, don’t you worry.”

Scorpious sidled up to Albus a while later as they were all eventually settled into row boats that would push them across the Black Lake, “Who was that?” he asked.

“Hagrid. He’s the gamekeeper here,” Albus said happily. “He said there aren’t any sea monsters.”

“I hope not,” a girl that was sitting with them said. “There’s no telling what’s really in there you know.”

Albus stared at her for a second or two. “What’s in there?”

She looked pale and shaken. “I don’t know but I know it’s nothing good.”

Scorpious was looking at the black water. “I don’t see anything.”

Albus was watching the girl turn green and decided that he wasn’t going to watch if she needed to lean over the side of the boat and relieve herself. “Let’s hope we don’t.” he said to Scorpious.

Someone was oohing and ahhing and he suddenly looked up as they drew closer to the sight of Hogwarts in the distance and he felt his heart do a weird leap at the sight of the towers and pillars that seemed to stretch towards the sky.

What looked like millions of lights were ablaze and they could see mountains and forests in the distance and it was only because of the brilliance of the lights all around the castle that they could.

Albus was thunderstruck and wasn’t able to keep his mouth closed as they departed from the row of boats and were led inside of a magnificent entryway. “Wow, this place is wonderful!” Rose was saying to a blonde girl beside her. “Mum and Dad were right!”

Albus was looking around at all the other students and as Hagrid led them a few more steps he was able to see a crack in a giant door and many voices on the inside. Apparently there were already students there and he felt cold sweat slide down his neck, they were going to be presented to the whole school?

He was going to have to listen to the Sorting Hat tell him that he belonged in Slytherin in front of everyone? Albus felt his knees going slack but it was only because of Scorpious’ prodding in the back of his neck that made him move forward, “I’m gonna puke,” he muttered.

“Don’t. I was gonna do it first,” Scorpious said.

Hagrid didn’t hear them and was now waiting for something or someone to appear and after a moment a serious looking man walked out carrying a long roll of parchment. “Professor Finch-Fletchly,” he said in greeting.

“Hagrid. Are these all the new first years?” Professor Finch-Fletchly asked.

“Right. This is all of’em and if you don’t need me fer nothing else I’ll be takin’ my seat,” Hagrid said with an expectant smile.

Professor Finch-Fletchly waved him away with a roll of his eyes. “Off you go now, off you go.” He said.

Hagrid gave Albus a wink before he stomped away.

The kids were all looking anxious now and Albus couldn’t help but wonder if they had to do something new this year, a lot of things had changed and he thought about if they would have to pull a rabbit out of a hat or levitate someone.

He wouldn’t be able to do it and everyone was going to laugh at him, “Now. I know that all of you must be very anxious for the Feast and the Sorting but I must tell you now that foolish on anyone’s part during or after will be punished. And no one is going to blame Peeves,” Professor Finch-Fletchly said.

Albus paled at the mention of the poltergeist and wondered when he would catch a glimpse of him. “There are four Houses in Hogwarts. Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor and Slytherin and while you all are at Hogwarts your House will be like the largest family you’ve ever had. House points will be taken and given to each House and at the end of the year; the winning school gets the House Cup.” He seemed pleased about something, “Hufflepuff has won only twice these past few years so I’ll be looking to you new Hufflepuffs for the win.”

Scorpious whispered. “Fat chance of that,”

Albus nudged him in the ribs.

When the students were still stewing in their shoes for another few minutes, Professor Finch-Fletchly finally allowed them inside the giant doors. Albus and the other were fascinated by the millions of candles that floated in midair and the enchanted ceiling overhead that showed the starry sky from outside and because it was realistic he almost thought the entire place was roofless.

Hundreds of other students watched them file in and Albus felt his cheeks heating in embarrassment as eyes looked critically at them all. He was going to be put in Slytherin for sure now and all these people were going to be staring at him, and looking, and pointing… “Hold on a moment, please.” Professor Finch-Fletchly said.

Albus inhaled raggedly. “This is it.”

“I’m so excited!” Rose said from behind him. “Cheer up, Albus!”

He couldn’t.

Scorpious was looking just as anxious. “Everyone is gonna Stun me before I get up there, I just know it.”

Albus glared at him, he wasn’t helping at all. “Go for Gryffindor!” he hissed under his breath.

Professor Finch-Fletchly had come back with a worn stool and a ragged old hat and after setting it down, he stepped aside. The Great Hall was silent with whispers and Albus waited and waited for something to happen, was the hat going to catch fire? Were they going to have to fight it?

Instead of this happening, the brim of the hat opened very wide, like a mouth and began to sing:

 

_Now you may think I’m ugly_

_And a little worn down_

_But I’m the smartest hat that’s ever been seen in this town_

_I’ll tell you where you’ll belong, and hold my ground_

_If you will put me on_

_Maybe next year when you’re older_

_I’ll sing another song_

_Perhaps you’ll be in Hufflepuff, where the hard workers dwell_

_Or maybe in Ravenclaw where smartness always toils_

_Or better yet in Gryffindor, the place where bravery shines_

_And maybe still you’ll dine with Slytherins, where ambition is highly prized_

_But how will you know without me as your guide?_

_Put this old hat on_

_I’ll look inside._

_I’ll rattle around and decide where you’ll belong_

_I will be here even when you are gone_

_Because I’m the Sorting Hat!_

_The smartest hat in town!_

 

The Hall erupted in cheers and Albus couldn’t help but smile as the hat was lifted off the stool, but it quickly faded as Professor Finch-Fletchly cried out. “When I call your name, you will come up and place the hat on your head and then, after you’re Sorted you’ll join your Houses!”

Some of the kids cheered.

Albus and Scorpious did not.

“Adams, John!” a pale boy with dark hair walked up and placed the hat on his head and after a moment the hat cried, “Gryffindor!” and one of the tables burst into cheers.

Albus watched him go enviously.

“Ackerly, Veronica!” a girl with thick dark hair was sorted in Hufflepuff.

Scorpious and Albus watched for a long time, both of them sweating from nerves and looking at each other every now and then as if they couldn’t believe that it was actually happening.

“Bell, Louis!” and Albus watched as a skinny boy was placed in Hufflepuff.

“Creevey, Sally!” Professor Finch-Fletchly cried.

Albus watched as a pretty girl with light blonde hair walked up and placed the hat on her head with a smile. It took a while but after a moment the hat said, “Gryffindor!” and he suddenly really wanted to join the House too.

While they waited, five more went to Gryffindor but the girl with the dark hair that Albus had gotten annoyed with outside of the train changed the running,

“Corner, Sue!” Professor Finch-Fletchly cried.

She walked up and placed the hat on her head.

“Ravenclaw!” it cried.

She took it off and nearly ran to her House.

Scorpious scowled, “Long as I’m not with her, I’ll be fine.”

Albus nodded fervently. “I know what you mean.”

“Finnegan, Christopher!”

The sandy haired boy whooped as he walked up and placed the hat on his head and after a second it cried, “Gryffindor!” and he gave Albus a wink and trotted down to join the rowdy group.

So far there had been no new Slytherins but when Goyle (Goyle, Carter!) was called up he was barely on the stool for a second before he was sent off to join the Slytherins, who bust into loud applause.

Scorpious blanched. “I definitely can’t be in Slytherin now. I don’t wanna be anywhere near him!” he said.

A few more Slytherins followed Goyle and the line was diminishing quickly as more and more students were Sorted, “Harper, Ignotus!” (Hufflepuff!)

“Jordan, Samantha!” (Gryffindor!) and most of the students whooped in delight while others were horrified, “Kingstone, Mary!” sobbed when she was sentenced to seven years in Ravenclaw while some students were just relieved for it to be over.

The Sorting Hat took its time with some, others it said right away and while they waited they realized, with a jolt that they were getting closer to Scorpious’ name.

After a tall girl with short hair was settled into Ravenclaw, his name was finally called. “Malfoy, Scorpious!” and he looked as if he might throw up on the spot.

Albus gave him a pat on the shoulder. “It’ll be all right,” he said.

Scorpious didn’t speak but walked up to the stool and placed it on his head with a grimace. It took a very long time with him but after a while it cried, “Gryffindor!” and there was a loud, if not astonished cry from the group as Scorpious stumbled off the stool and joined them.

Rose nudged Albus. “I think it got that one wrong!”

He ignored her as more people were called and Sorted and he couldn’t help but feel a bit of jealousy invade him. It was quickly replaced by nerves as Professor Finch-Fletchly called, “Patil, Lavender!” the girl that had gotten sick from the ride over from the boat nearly fell as she walked up to the stool and placed the hat gingerly on her dark head.

The hat took a very long time with her too but after a while it finally said, “Gryffindor!” and she was so startled that she nearly fainted on the stool. When she hopped off she was still green in the face.

“Potter, Albus!” Professor Finch-Fletchly cried after a few more students were Sorted into their Houses.

Rose shoved Albus up and he glanced down at her with a dark frown on his face before turning resolutely up to the stool and sitting down. Professor Finch-Fletchly eyed him for a moment, “You look just like your dad you know. Except for the—”

“Glasses, yeah,” Albus said.

Hundreds of eyes were staring at him unblinkingly as the hat was placed over his head. It was so big that it hung over his eyes and drooped over his ears and for a second all he could see was the musty inside of the hat and then, out of nowhere a voice said, “Didn’t think I would be seeing you again, Mr. Potter.”

“I’m Albus,” he said to it.

The hat sounded like some kind of odd bee buzzing in his brain. “I see. Not a very bad mind you’ve got, not afraid of hard work I see and very brave. Now…where to put you?”

Albus could feel his stomach knotting tightly and he felt very queasy. He tried to form words but only the dreaded, “Slytherin,” escaped from his mouth.

The Sorting Hat seemed to pause at this. “Are you certain? Your father wasn’t too keen on that House, if I recall correctly.”

Albus’s ears were drumming. “What?” he asked.

“All right then, if you’re sure.” The hat suddenly cried out before he could stop it and cried out to the silence, “Slytherin!”

The whole world seemed to fall in on itself and Albus was so horrified by this change of events that he could only sit there in shock, even when the hat was lifted from his head and the next person came up, “No, it’s wrong!” he cried. “I didn’t mean to say it, its wrong!”

Professor Finch-Fletchly looked oddly sympathetic, “The Sorting Hat makes no mistakes, Potter. Go to your House.”

Albus was looking around at all the faces, some of them shocked and he felt the back of his neck prickling with heat. The teachers were staring at him too, “No! This can’t be happening, I mean, I didn’t—”

Professor Finch-Fletchly lifted him off the stool with a firm grip. “Go on, everything will be just fine.” He said.

Albus’s knees were shaking and he barely heard a distance voice saying, “Potter, are you all right? You can step down now.”

“I don’t want to be in Slytherin, please don’t put me in Slytherin,” he said while cold sweat broke out over his pale face.

Professor Finch-Fletchly stared at him in puzzlement, “The Hat has placed you in Gryffindor, Potter. Honestly, you should pay more attention!”

Relief broke out on his face and he shakily removed the Hat from his head and handed it to the professor, who was still eyeing him oddly, “Y-yeah, okay.” He said as he hopped off the stool and began waddling toward the cheering group of Gryffindors that waved him over.

When he sat down, Scorpious was at his side in an instant. “What were you thinking about? You were up there for a really long time.”

“I thought it put me in Slytherin. I swore it did,” Albus said.

“No, Albus, it said Gryffindor almost as soon as you sat down.” Scorpious started to grin widely, “What kind of luck is this though? Both of us aren’t Slytherins!”

Albus smiled back at him with a wider smile on his face. “Things are going to work out all right then?”

Scorpious was looking around. “I don’t know, but I hope so. Everyone’s looking at me all weird, like I don’t really belong here.”

Indeed they were. Several pairs of eyes were watching the two of them as if they couldn’t believe what they were seeing and it made Albus both annoyed and angry.

They were all sitting there and staring like Scorpious was some sort of horrible beast and frankly, he was not half as bad as everyone was making him seem, in fact, Albus had a feeling that he was the one that deserved the cheers, not him.

After all, he got enough of it from who his father was while Scorpious probably only got boos and jeers, which wasn’t fair, “Don’t worry about it. They’ll cool off after a while.”

Scorpious was looking doubtful. “We’ll see about that.”

“Robert, Logan!” said Professor Finch-Fletchly and a very small boy stumbled up to the stool and was soon put into Slytherin.

Albus was starting to get a little anxious as Rose’s name was getting closer and closer to being called. And he was starting to get a little hungry on top of that so he was unable to really focus on the other students that were Sorted as his stomach began to growl, making Sally Creevey laugh.

Blushing, he tried to watch as Elliot Thomas joined them at the Gryffindor table and after he sat down, looking happier than Albus had felt all day, it was finally Rose’s turn.

“Weasely, Rose!” Professor Finch-Fletchly called.

The hall was jittering with both nerves and hunger as she walked eagerly up to the stool and rammed the hat onto her head. After a moment it finally said, “Ravenclaw!” and she was sent on her way, with a slightly disappointed smile on her face.

Albus clapped harder and cheered louder than anyone else and watched as she sat down next to Sue Corner and struck up a conversation that he supposed only girls would be able to translate. At last, with his cousin Sorted, the feast was about to begin but just when Albus was wondering how the food was going to arrive, via owl trolley, the headmistress rose and walked up to the podium.

There was a large hush as dozens of eyes turned to look up at the formidable old witch as she looked around at them all, “Welcome new students to Hogwarts and to our old students, welcome back. There are a few start of term notices that I would like all of you to know,” she sent James a dark look and he grinned at her. “The list of banned toys can be viewed in Mr. Flich’s office for those of you who would like to know.”

Again, she looked at James with a frown.

Albus was wondering just how much trouble his brother got into at this place. Headmistress McGonagall continued on as if she had not paused in the slightest, “Also, the Forbidden Forest is forbidden for a reason and is off limits to every student. Now, with that done, let the feast begin!” she clapped her hands with the rest of the staff, who were looking rather worn out.

Albus watched her stride back over to the headmistress’s chair and saw a man with a gloating sort of face lean over to say something to her. It made her frown but he was suddenly distracted by the delicious scents of food that had miraculously appeared in front of him, waiting to be eaten, “Wow!” Chris Finnegan said. “They’ve got everything!”

What he said was true. There were all kinds of foods that seemed to go on and on for miles; cakes, pies, stews, puddings, steak, chicken, casserole and more ice-cream than Albus had ever seen and as he tried to think about what he wanted first, a ghostly voice said, “I know who you must be.”

Jumping, Albus turned to see the ghost of a man with a very exaggerated ruffled neck gazing down at him from the floor. More ghosts were appearing, filtering out of walls and floors and windows and only he thought it was odd that they were trying to pick up food, the other students were laughing and talking to them as if it were all ordinary fun. “Do you?” he asked the ghost.

“Little Albus Potter! Your brother James has told me all about you!” the ghost said while winking down at James, who was too busy eating to notice the exchange. “I’m Sir Nicholas, the ghost of Gryffindor Tower you know. I knew your father very well, brave chap you know,”

Albus knew this already, “Did my dad have a hard time with the Sorting too?” he asked.

“Hm. I’m not sure but as you know, he wound up in Gryffindor! No harm done and he went on to do very good things.” Sir Nick said as he gazed around at the new batch of Gryffindors, “I’m hoping all of you are up to the task of winning the House Cup this year?”

“Of course we are!” Sally Creevey said happily. “No one is gonna beat us!”

Albus fervently agreed with her.

Scorpios was digging into a steak and kidney pie, “I’ll bet you three Galleons that you’re wrong and we lose by two points.” He said without looking at her.

She glared down at him. “You’re on, Malfoy!”

Albus rolled his eyes, nudging him. “What are you betting with her for?”

Scorpious glanced at him. “If I lose this bet she’ll never shut up. You’ve got no idea how annoying she is, you were getting Sorted for so long that you probably didn’t hear her blabbering away like a chipmunk.”

Albus snorted into his mashed potatoes. “She can’t be that bad.”

“We’ll see, shame that we’re in the same House.” Scorpious said while Albus laughed at him. Sir Nick had paused to look at him as they’d spoken and there was a look of steely recognition on his face and for a moment Albus thought that he would say something but he just glided away across the Hall.

Albus watched him go towards a ferociously mean looking spirit that was hovering near Goyle’s beefy shoulder (for the most part he looked uncomfortable). “Who is that ghost?”

“Bloody Baron,” James answered over a mouthful of chicken leg. “Slytherin ghost,” he said after swallowing, “mean bloke. Might wanna stay away from him,”

“Wonder what they’re looking so tense about?” Scorpious asked.

“Maybe they’re wondering how you got over here. I sure am,” James said while waving a spoon at him. Albus wiped crumbs off his own plate, “did you cheat the Hat or something?’

Scorpious frowned. “I didn’t cheat anything! It asked me what House I would want to be in and I said Gryffindor!”

“So you don’t really belong in Gryffindor if it asked,” James said.

Albus said, “I asked to be in Gryffindor too!”

James thought about this, “Well, I guess it can make one mistake.” He said while looking at Scorpious.

Scorpious scowled and tore into the remainder of his steak and kidney pie with a dark glint in his eye. “Maybe it did make a mistake.”

“It didn’t make a mistake. I mean I swore that it had put me in Slytherin!” Albus whispered to him. “I must have imagined it.”

“Good thing too because I don’t think I would make it over here either if you were in Slytherin.” Scorpious said with a frown. “Everyone’s gonna try and pound me as soon as I get asleep.”

Albus frowned. “No they’re not. They’ll get over it.”

Scorpious didn’t say anything more.

While he fumed at his uncertain fate, Albus caught Chris Finnegan talking to Elliot Thomas rapidly and it was obvious that they knew each other well. “Dad says that you can come and stay over the summer this year too. I can’t wait to tell him that I’m in Gryffindor! Him and mum are going to be so happy about it, they always remind me about what could have happened if no one had stood up to Voldemort.”

The name made a few students tense.

Elliot Thomas said, “My dad said that it was really intense. There was a moment when they actually thought they would lose!”

“No way!” Chris said, “they weren’t gonna lose anything!”

Albus turned away from this conversation to listen to Sally Creevey and Lavender Patil, “My dad is Muggle born but my mum is a pureblood. She was from Beauxbatons, the academy in France and he met her on a business trip. He works for Gringotts you know.”

“Or what’s left of Gringotts,” Scorpious muttered.

Gringotts was the old wizard bank that had been run by goblins but after three kids broke in and used a dragon to escape, they’d lost a lot of support from the wizards that had their gold stored there.

Albus wasn’t sure if they were going to close it down or not but he had heard that more wizards worked there now and that the few remaining goblins were threatening to leave as well because of the unfair treatment they received from wizards.

Another Wizarding bank was now taking more customers but Albus thought it was sort of stupid to still call it Gringotts; the reputation couldn’t be good for business in his opinion.

Lavender Patil said, “My whole family thought that I was going to be all Muggle for sure but once, while I was swimming I nearly drowned. Next thing I knew I was back on land! My mum was so happy that I’d finally shown some magic that she almost smothered me to death,”

“What are you most looking forward to? I’m really interested in Defense Against the Dark Arts,” Sally said. “Do you know who teaches that class?”

James answered. “Professor Smith. He’s the one with the everlasting smile on his face, the blonde, see?” he pointed up at the staff table at the man.

Albus thought he looked rather cold in the face but he was probably too sleepy and full to be thinking correctly. “Is he a good teacher?”

“He’s all right I guess. Ego couldn’t get any bigger, though,” James said with a laugh. “I used an Engorgement Charm on his head once and you should have seen how large it got before he went to the hospital!”

Albus and Scorpious laughed.

Sally was laughing but Lavender looked troubled. “Well, I hope it’s worth it! My dad used to go on and on about it, he said he learned so much.”

“Who is your dad anyway?” James asked her.

“Dennis Creevey,” Sally said. “He collects gold and treasures from all over the world. He’s really adventurous; I’d like to be an Auror when I grow up though,”

“What are you looking forward to?” Scorpious asked Lavender Patil.

She thought about it, “I think I’m really going to like Charms. Not sure if I’ll get the hang of Transfiguration.”

Albus was wondering just how hard he was going to fail in Potions. “Who teaches Potions?” he asked.

“Professor Zabini,” James said with a jerk of his head.

Scorpios had stiffened a little but Albus looked over at where James had indicated and noted the tall black man eating stiffly and talking to no one. “Looks like a mad guy,” he said.

“He’s all right. Bit of a jerk if you ask me,” James said. “Head of Slytherin House, but I never see him favoring any of them either. Doesn’t seem to like anyone.”

Scorpious snorted. “Can you blame him though? He looks like he has something stuck up his a—”

Headmistress McGonagall stood back up just then as the plates were washed clean of their desserts and their bellies were full to bursting. “Now that everyone has been fed, I’d like for the prefects of each House to lead the first years from the Hall and to their dormitories. Go on now and have a good night, you all have a busy day tomorrow!”

Chairs scraped and what sounded like millions of footsteps were thundering toward the doors. A voice was calling over the heads of first years toward the Gryffindors, “Over here! Come on, make way, over here!” a boy called.

Scorpios and Albus walked over with the rest, bellies full to bursting and their eyes drooping with the need to sleep. They trudged up to him, noting the acne on his face and the way he glared down at them all, “What’s with him?” Scorpious asked.

Albus shrugged but James patted him on the shoulder as he passed, “He’s always been like that. Move out of the way, Louis!” he said to the boy.

“Hey, none of that backtalk this year, Potter! I’m a Prefect!” the boy said pompously but James ignored him and walked out with a group of his rowdy friends.

Louis the Prefect glared at the remainder of the students and they waited for him to catch his temper before they followed him out of the hall. “That Potter thinks he’s so cool and only a second year!” he growled.

“Hey, that’s my brother you’re talking about!” Albus snapped at his side.

Louis glared down at him too. “I don’t care who you think you are, Potter Junior,” he sneered. “But my mother works in the ministry and she said that your father wasn’t really as great as he pretended to be, and that aunt of yours—”

“Now you shut your big mouth!” Albus snapped furiously.

Louis paused but turned away and began leading them up floors, down stairs, around corners and up many of the changing staircases. Scorpious was glaring at Louis too, “Who does he think he is, anyway?”

“I know what I’m going to do with my Dungbombs this year,” Albus muttered grimly in reply.

“Tell me beforehand so I can help.” Scorpious said with a grin.

While they conspired to destroy the annoying Prefect, Albus caught one last sight of Rose as she was being taken up a different staircase. He waved up at her and she smiled back down at him and then went on talking to Sue Corner, who was looking ridiculously arrogant for someone so small.

“All right, here we are.” Louis the Prefect said at last.

Albus had missed the exact way to their dormitories and was started to see a large picture of a very fat lady in a pink dress. She appeared to be dozing but jolted at the sound of Louis’s voice, “Password?” she asked drowsily.

“Hogs Head,” Louis the Prefect said confidently.

She nodded and the portrait hole swung open to reveal a circular doorway that they all eagerly entered. Albus and Scorpios looked around at the cozy common room and the roaring fire in the grate, “Girls are this way, and boys, that way,” Louis was saying while pointing right and left with his fingers.

Albus looked up and around at the moving pictures that were waving and cheering them and yawned loudly. “Bedtime, all of you. You’ve got a busy day tomorrow and no roughhousing!” he warned while the girls and boys started to separate.

Albus took one last look at Sally Creevey until her hair was out of sight and decided to walk up the stairs towards the boy’s dormitory, ignoring Scorpious’ teasing along the way. “Tired, aren’t you?” he asked at some point a little too loudly.

Scorpious took the hint. “Sure am. Excited about classes?”

Albus thought about it and wondered if he was going to enjoy any of his classes tomorrow and thought that, yes, he would be able to.

In Herbology, he had a one up on the other students because he knew Professor Longbottom outside of Hogwarts and had even had dinner with him and Teddy Lupin, who had graduated from Hogwarts a few years ago, all the time on holidays.

He thought of his round face and the scars that he had gotten several years ago from Death Eaters and couldn’t think of a better person to have his first day of school with, outside of Hagrid.

He wouldn’t be able to take Care of Magical Creatures until third year but he could still visit Hagrid on Fridays and weekends, that was someone who didn’t expect him to be anyone but himself.

Comforted by this thought, Albus barely noticed Chris Finnegan and Elliot Thomas as he changed into his pajamas and chose a four poster bed as his own, “I think so,” he said in answer to Scorpious’ question.

“I don’t know how I’m going to break the news to my parents about not being in Slytherin. Bet they already know though,” Scorpious said.

“What do you mean?” Albus asked while shoving the covers and blankets back.

“That Potions teacher used to go to school with them and they still talk and everything,” Scorpious said, “sometimes. I bet he’s already sending them an owl about how I’ve ruined the family traditions and stuff.”

“You don’t seem all too upset,” Chris Finnegan said.

Scorpious was grinning from ear to ear, the first real smile that Albus had seen from him all day. “Can you tell?” he asked.

“I can.” Albus laughed. “I’ve gotta write my mum and dad too and let them know that I wasn’t put in Slytherin. They’ll be really relieved, I guess. Suppose I was really worried about it before I got on the train.”

“I had to listen to my whole family going on and on about how Slytherin was going to be the best House that I could ever be put into. I’m gonna be the first in who knows how long to actually be in a different House!” Scorpious was still grinning and his pale cheeks were even pink. “I’m gonna rub it in my sister Emily’s face, she’s dying to be in Slytherin!”

Albus didn’t know what House his own sister was eager to get into but he had a feeling that she would be really happy to be in Gryffindor, but he thought of Rose and wondered if she would be disappointed with the House she eventually got into.

He would have to ask Rose about it tomorrow when he talked to her, if he ever saw her because he wasn’t sure how the schedule was going to be. “She isn’t going to like that.”

“Who cares?” Scorpious said with a laugh as he settled down and drew the curtains around his bed. “I’m so happy I could kick a hippogriff!”

Albus could understand his happiness as he drew his own curtains around his bed and punched his pillow until it was soft and dimpled. He was going to say something more but he wasn’t able to form a single thought and fell into a dreamless sleep.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	3. Rose's Bargain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's their first week at Hogwarts and these two unlikely friends are in for more surprises, bargains and pink panties than they can handle.

His blissful mood lasted for approximately thirty seconds every day that whole week. Because Hogwarts was so impossibly massive and consisted of more hidden rooms and staircases that were even remotely sane, Albus and Scorpious were lost within five minutes and because everyone was in a rush to get to classes, they didn’t get much help from anyone.

The nasty specter Peeves taunted them all the way around corridors, down stairs, through hidden passageways and when he didn’t get much of a rise from them, he tossed chalk, garbage and candy wrappers on their heads. It was because of the evil little ghost that had Albus and Scorpious being late for their first ever Potions lesson and when they finally found the dank, dark dungeons, they were out of breath and in a foul temper.

Professor Zabini glanced up at them from behind his desk in a way that suggested that they would soon be disemboweled but his tone of voice was calm. “Welcome, gentlemen. How fine of you to make your presences known,”

Scorpious frowned at him a little, thinking that he was being just a tad bit sarcastic for his tastes but Albus shot him a look. “Sorry, sir,”

Professor Zabini sneered a little, his full lips looking pained with the effort and Albus wondered if his lips were cracking. Surely there was dust at the corners from the last time that he had tilted those cynical lips upwards, “Five points from Slytherin,” he said coolly.

Albus blanched a little bit at this nasty reminder of his worst fear, “We’re not in Slytherin sir,” he announced.

“Oh?” Professor Zabini asked snidely.

Scorpious nodded, “That’s right, we’re in Gryffindor,”

Again, the professor merely made a questioning noise in the back of his throat and Albus was reminded of a monster clearing its stomach, ready for the next delicious meal that would surely come in the form of two eleven year old boys.

“I see. So, it’s…Malfoy and…” he looked at Albus with another awkward sneer (could that be dust falling to earth from the corner of his lip?) “Ah, yes, Potter. I’d recognize that messy hair anywhere.”

The class was just about full as he went on and Albus felt his ears turning red as Sally Creevey gave him an assessing look. What burned even more was when she turned away and began talking to Lavender Patil as though he were a nasty slug that had accidentally stumbled upon swans, today was not turning out so well at all.

Albus frowned at the professor. “Don’t talk bad about my father,” he snapped, because surely, who else would he have meant with that nasty look in his dark eyes?

Professor Zabini stared at him for a long time and the silence between them stretched on and on until Albus felt his cheeks turning pink with annoyance. Scorpious was opening his mouth to say something, probably something horribly inappropriate but at that moment, their teacher merely smirked.

It was the scariest thing that Albus had ever seen.

Somewhere, he knew, souls were escaping the living.

“Then that’s five points each from Gryffindor for your cheek Potter,” he looked at Scorpious. “Your father isn’t going to be too thrilled with that. And on your first day too,” he said loftily, “such a pity,”

Albus and Scorpious glared at him and then trudged their way to an empty desk and forced their cauldrons and supplies on the table. “What a git,” Scorpious muttered, “look at him, you’d bet he’s never had a hug in his life.”

“Tell me about it,” Albus muttered back. He couldn’t imagine any woman or man ever going up to this guy and holding him, not unless they wanted to burst into flames that is.

Professor Zabini went through a few simple things on that first lesson, teaching them how to make a simple Sinister Serum, a potion that could be used to create nightmares to your enemies while they were awake. Albus couldn’t help but notice that his dark, fathomless eyes raked over Scorpious as he said these things, as if he were some sort of devil with blonde hair but it wasn’t just him, Zabini sneered his way as well.

He couldn’t remember his father ever mentioning him but his mother had, saying that he was a foul (insert naughty word here) and that she would hex him within an inch of his life if she ever got the chance.

Albus was resigned to say that he knew Potions was going to be his weakest and most pathetic subject and next to Scorpious, he had nothing to complain about because by the end of the lesson, their Sinister Serum was no more nightmarish than a teddy bear.

That should have been his first sign that he was not going to be having exactly the best week and no sooner had he thought that did he wander into Transfiguration and embarrass himself by turning his silk handkerchief into a pair of women’s underwear.

Lavender Patil had stayed red in the face for the rest of that day.

If that wasn’t bad enough, in Charms the next day, Scorpious accidentally set them both on fire as he’d tried to impress anyone who would look, seeming to think that if he were talented, the other Gryffindors would accept him.

He failed miserably and the two of them had been drenched as Professor Flitwick, who was very old and on his last year at Hogwarts, had soaked them through.

So, it had been back up to Gryffindor Tower to change and then to skulk back down for lunch, with everyone laughing at their singed hair and eyebrows. And if that hadn’t been enough to ruin anyone’s good mood, Herbology had been a disaster.

Albus had thought he would have the one up on the other students but he was sadly, horribly mistaken and while he shared this class with Rose, she was of little help because she detested Scorpious and refused to be around him.

Albus had had to practically shout at her to get her attention while a beautifully evil rose bush had tried to shoot thorns into his eyes, they had been told to take the thorns for Madame Pomfrey, who used the poison to cure illnesses, but he had failed amazingly at this.

Professor Longbottom had taken pity on him and had finished the work for him, saying that he would get used to it in time. Herbology apparently didn’t come easy for everyone. Scorpious had done fairly well, collecting over five tins worth of thorns but no one noticed him at all and while they trumped back through the grounds, miserable and defeated, he was in a fouler mood than Albus.

So on that Thursday morning neither of them thought that their time at Hogwarts could get any worse. Albus should have figured that, with his luck, he should be expecting anything and when he saw the mail arrive he couldn’t sink into his seat fast enough. His owl Dobby was laden with what looked like a million letters.

Scorpious’s own owl looked as if it were showing off as it swooped brilliantly around the Great Hall, doing swoops and circles until it landed majestically on his shoulder and held out his leg for him.

Dobby fell into a bowl of cereal and nearly drowned.

“What a menace,” Albus groaned in embarrassment as the Gryffindor table roared with laughter. He took the huge stack of letters from him, dusting him off as he did so and stroked his beak, “you need to rest.”

Dobby blinked and seemed to agree as he flew off.

Scorpious had taken his letters and Albus watched annoyingly as his owl soared, like an angel, out of the Great Hall. “A letter from my Dad,” he muttered with a frown as he flicked through his neatly stacked letters, “and from Mum, _her_ , and Emily,”

Albus wondered if her meant his step-mum but didn’t say anything as he tried to organize his own pile. It sort of sucked to have so many relatives and he groaned as he rifled through them; Freddie, Lucy, Molly, Teddy, Hugo, Lily, his grandparents, his _parents_ , Uncle Bill, Aunt Fleur, Uncle Percy, Aunt Audrey, Uncle George, Aunt Angie and Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron had _all_ wrote to him and he cursed, “Did James have to tell everyone?”

“Tell everyone what?” James asked as he came in, accompanied by a tall, sandy haired boy that was very wide.

“About me winding up in Gryffindor instead of Slytherin! I would have told everyone on my own!” Albus said annoyingly. “I mean, _look_ at this!” he held up the heavy letters, each of them looking as though they were five parchment sheets long, “why would you do this?”

James laughed merrily as he sat and started to pile eggs and bacon on his plate, he didn’t look at all sorry. “Well, you were so worried about it. Thought they needed to be kept calm, they would have flipped if you’d been in Slytherin!”

Albus growled as he tore open Lily’s letter and read it. “Lily says that she wouldn’t have cared where I would have wound up,” he smiled a little and set it aside, “well, she doesn’t really care about much anyway. She’s always in a good mood.”

“She’s a Hufflepuff for sure,” James said.

Scorpious snorted.

“You think that’s funny?” James demanded angrily.

“I do, actually,” Scorpious said calmly while setting one of his letters aside.

Albus rolled his eyes at him before he read Freddie’s letter, “I don’t know why he has to rub it in!” he cried a few minutes later as he held up a picture of the Slytherin snake being eaten by the Gryffindor lion.

James laughed, “Relax, Al, it’s not like you’re the snake!”

“It says so right here!” Albus said as he pointed to a corner where his name was plastered on in big black ink.

Scorpious was reading his sister’s letter and he laughed out loud, it sounded slightly mad and Albus flinched a little. “My sister is ashamed, says that I’ve ruined the family traditions and that I should pitch myself in the Black Lake.”

“Sounds charming,” Albus heard James say.

“And then she sends her love. Ah, Emily, you never change,” Scorpious said with an oddly fond smile. “My father wants to know how my week has gone, you don’t mind if I tell him about the pink panties do you?”

“Pink panties?” James asked with interest. “Been sneaking into the girl’s dormitory already, Albus?”

Albus flushed, “No!”

James frowned in heavy disappointment. “I don’t think we’re related.”

“You—”

Scorpious interrupted smoothly, “What happened to them anyway?”

Albus coughed into his fist, “I don’t know, actually.”

“Are you wearing them?” James asked casually.

Albus tossed a slice of ham at him. “Git, like I would!” he cried as he noticed a few people looking down at them, obviously trying to listen in. “And anyway, where do you get off sneaking into the girl’s dorm anyway?”

James turned a blind ear to these words and nudged his wide friend in the shoulder, “What’s up?” he asked, noticing his dark look as he read a copy of the Daily Prophet.

The boy turned to him, face grim. “Some Death Eater kid was murdered last night.” He whispered and he wasn’t the only one who was very grim about this news, people all along the table were gasping and looking worried. “Apparently, from what it says, he’s the fifth one that’s been killed.”

Scorpious had gone pale and was holding one of his letters in trembling hands but his eyes were as hard as granite. Albus placed a hand on his arm, “How was the kid murdered?” he asked.

James was obviously more worried that Scorpious was going to explode in front of Albus but he didn’t say anything, at least not yet. “Mason,” he then said as Albus looked curiously at him, “this is Mason Finnegan, Chris’s older brother.” He pointed down at Chris Finnegan and Elliot Thomas who were recounting Scorpious and Albus catching on fire in Charms to Sally Creevey and Lavender Patil.

“I’m Albus, this is Scorpious,” Albus said as Scorpious made no attempt at all to introduce himself, he was too busy staring at his hands as if they were fascinating.

Mason nodded at him with a grin and then went back to looking at the Daily Prophet. “You think it’s okay to be hanging around him?” he asked, jerking his finger at Scorpious.

“How original, like I haven’t heard that one all week,” Scorpious snapped as Albus laughed.

“What’s up?” James asked when Mason looked more grim than ever. “Come on, you can tell us. There’s only one Death Eater kid over here.”

Scorpious spat, “What are you trying to say?”

Albus intervened, “Would you knock it off, James? I mean, really, just cause his dad was a Death Eater doesn’t mean that he’s gonna be one.”

Mason was ignoring all of them as he read the Daily Prophet with a dark look and said eventually, “Apparently, they think it might be vampires. All of the kids were drained of blood and left in dark, damp places, vampires love that sort of thing, but it’s weird, there aren’t any known vampires in Britain anymore.”

James looked uncharacteristically grim for a moment himself before whispering to Albus, fingers moving in a mysterious, mocking way. “Well, everyone except for Zabini that is—”

“Oh, give it a rest!” Mason said with a shake of his head. “I mean, really? He’s not a vampire just because he hardly eats, stays out of the sun and wears a long, dark cape and sucks the souls out of the living. All Slytherins are like that.” He said as James roared with laughter.

Albus and Scorpious gaped at each other in horror. Even though James and Mason were joking, he still couldn’t quite dismiss the thought that Zabini _could_ probably suck the souls out of the living.

He would have to keep his eye on him, it would be a little irritating if Scorpious was killed before he could even introduce him to his parents and force him to get along better with Rose.

Aside from that, where was Zabini anyway?

Was he out there now on the grounds luring some helpless girl, who looked a lot like Sally Creevey, into a dark corner and sucking her blood to really eerie music that just so happened to be playing in the background? Could it even be possible?

“What else did they say about the attacks?” he asked Mason.

“Not much, you know how the Daily Prophet is. They like to put the hush on things like that but I could ask my mum, she works there.” Mason said with a frown, “that Anthony Nott kid was decent, so it says,”

James took his copy of the Daily Prophet, read a few more things and then pushed it at Albus, who shared it with Scorpious. The headline read:

 

**Fifth Murder in Vampire Attacks**

 

The Daily Prophet has just gotten word that Anthony Nott, son to Theodore Nott has been found dead, the anonymous source reports that his body was found outside of the Leaky Cauldron late Thursday evening.

Nott, a former Quidditch player for the Chudley Cannons, kept a quiet life with his mother and father as he recovered from a knee injury that resulted in his leaving of the team last fall.

The family of course is devastated by the loss of such a talented and generous individual but this is only the fifth in several murders that have swept over London since early this summer.

Aurors are working hard to discover the motive for these crimes as we all know that vampires were neutral to the war against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named over twenty years ago, but the fact that many Death Eater children have been murdered has been noted.

Harry Potter, Head of the Auror Department is working night and day to find out whom the murderer may be and if more future Death Eater children are in danger of having their lives taken away from them.

He is advising all parents to be alert and to report to the Auror Department for questioning in these events and for their protection, and because Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry houses well over fifty Death Eater children, many parents are concerned.

Most notably perhaps is the son of Draco Malfoy, former Death Eater and now renegade leader in Muggle-born rights, is currently attending his first year at Hogwarts. We have no idea whether his father is behind these attacks or if his son may be the next article in the Prophet, but we can all hope that these gruesome murders are finished long before then.

 

“Gits!” Albus cried angrily as he tossed the newspaper aside. “I mean, who says that your dad is the one doing this? After all the good he’s done?” he asked as Scorpious looked angrier than he had ever seen him.

“Did you _read_ that? They want me to get killed!” Scorpious screamed furiously. “I’m not going to be the next article in this bloody paper!”

“What a pity,” James said sarcastically.

Scorpious glowered at him. “What was that Potter?” he snarled.

James waved a lazy hand at him, looking more amused than grim. Even Mason had lost his serious expression and was happily eating his breakfast as if this horrible news were ordinary, “They were only saying that you _could_ be. If someone is targeting Death Eater kids—”

“Shut up, James!” Albus snapped furiously. “Scorpious isn’t going to be in this paper, not while Dad is working on it! And Uncle Ron too!”

James looked as if he might say something to that but Albus narrowed his eyes on him, daring him to say that the great Harry Potter couldn’t solve a problem. His brother, as obnoxious as he was, couldn’t even do that, “Well, we don’t know if they’ll ever catch the vampire or not, Dad won’t tell _us_ anything!”

Albus thought for a moment and suddenly felt very foolish. “Professor Longbottom was an Auror for a while so he should know how things are done, we could ask him about what’s going on!” he cried hopefully.

James held up his hands. “Would you relax, Al? It’s not like anything could really happen here, at Hogwarts!”

“How were most of the Death Eater kids killed? None of them went to Hogwarts right?” Albus asked hopefully as Scorpious regained just a bit of his color, seeming to take James’s words with a lot of relief.

Mason shrugged as he looked up at them, swallowed his food and said. “Not from what I know, most of them were older but that doesn’t mean anything. They could be trying to get to the younger ones later.”

Scorpious groaned.

“There’s no way a vampire could get here,” Albus said as he took in his friend’s pale face, even his own hands were trying to shake.

“There are worse things in Hogwarts than vampires, Albus. Dad told me once that a troll got in!” James said with an ominous chuckle.

“That’s not the same!” Albus cried.

Mason laughed. “No, trolls are dumb but vampires are one of the most powerful creatures in the world.” He said with a fascinated look. “Really, Al, do you know anything?”

Albus flushed. “I know things, just that, what if Zabini—”

“Zabini _is_ a vampire,” James said with a certainty that disturbed both Albus and Scorpious, “don’t doubt us on that, Al,” he said seriously.

Albus was growing more panicked by the second and Scorpious looked as if he might be ill with rage. “How do you tell a vampire from a normal person anyway?”

“Kinda obvious isn’t it? I mean, they do have fangs, Al,” James said lazily while dumping ketchup on his eggs. “Don’t be a prat.”

Albus sighed and realized that he wasn’t going to get any answers out of his brother if he had to save his life. Scorpious, meanwhile, was looking very pale and his eyes were still hard, “Maybe we should talk to Headmistress McGonagall—”

“Albus!” someone called and he turned to see Rose walking up with that annoying Sue Corner girl behind her. “Did you read this?” she asked while shaking a rolled up Daily Prophet under his nose.

“Kinda hard not to with you shoving it in my face.” Albus said with an attempt at a grin as Scorpious and Sue Corner gave each other scathing looks.

“Well, at least you know now why we were getting so concerned about you. Hanging around with, with people like _that_!” his cousin spat, panting.

Albus was slightly concerned as he took her in. “What’s this all about?”

“It’s about you hanging out with a Death Eater brat!” James shouted suddenly, annoyed. “I’ve told you before!”

Albus turned on him, “I’ll hang out with whoever I want, you can’t tell me what to do and don’t you _dare_ write to Mum and Dad!” he shouted as James opened his mouth to say something else.

“But—” Rose and James started hotly.

Albus threw up his hands annoyingly. “Would you two just stop it? You’re making it sound like Scorpious is going to turn bad or something!”

“His dad was a _Death Eater_ , Al!” James shouted back and Albus was unnerved to see that their whole table was looking at them.

“Doesn’t mean that he is too!” Albus cried. “Scorpious, don’t listen to them—”

Scorpious muttered sourly, “Maybe I will turn bad for all you know!”

Albus’s mouth fell open in outrage as his cousin laughed hysterically, forcing him to look at her again, though he wished that he hadn’t.

Rose was looking slightly mad, her cheeks were red and her hair was standing up on end. She had seemed unhappy all week with being in Ravenclaw instead of Gryffindor but she ignored her own problems to say, “See? _See_? If you stay around people like him then you might wind up with your blood drained!” she cried, flinging a look at Scorpious.

Scorpious bared his teeth at her. “Come closer so I can take a bite, Weasley and get it over with.” He threatened menacingly, almost rising from his seat.

Rose drew her wand, “Stay back!”

“Would you stop it?!” Albus cried as he rose out of his seat to shove her wand arm down and to push Scorpious back as he advanced on his cousin angrily. “Even if there is some crazy vampire around, it’s not like it can get into Hogwarts!”

“Death Eaters have gotten into Hogwarts before, Albus, I mean, really, have you even _read_ A Revised Hogwarts a History?” Rose cried shrilly as she looked at Scorpious from over his shoulder.

Albus and James looked at each other, “You know we haven’t.” He said, looking back at Rose in annoyance, “can’t you just, I don’t know? Sit down or something?” he asked hopefully.

“I’m not sitting anywhere _near_ him!” Rose cried.

Scorpious growled, “Not like you’re a Gryffindor anyway, _Ravenclaw_!” he snapped angrily.

Rose’s cheeks flushed pink and she glared at him furiously, her eyes sparkling with tears. “Oh, like you would know anyway! Everyone knows you cheated the Sorting Hat!” she hissed nastily before turning her eyes back to Albus. “You need to stay away from him.”

Scorpious looked at Albus as if he would really walk away.

In fact, it was almost as if he expected it, his eyes grew sort of expectant. Albus glowered at Rose, “I’m not going to leave my friend, why is everyone so sure that we shouldn’t talk to each other?”

“It’s a tragic love story,” James murmured and Mason burst out laughing.

Albus glared over at him. “Shut up, James!”

Rose was visibly shaking from rage and some other, weird girl emotion that Albus would never be able to understand. “If you don’t belong in Slytherin and I don’t belong in Ravenclaw, ‘cause I _don’t_ , then why don’t we prove it?”

Albus glowered in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

Rose drew herself up and looked at Sue Corner, who was rolling her eyes as if she were above this situation. “I’m saying, let’s steal the Sorting Hat.”

“You’re mental!” Albus cried as he stared at her in amazement, “I mean this isn’t you, why would you steal the Sorting Hat?”

His cousin ignored him and raised her eyebrows at Scorpious, almost as if she dared him to even admit that he didn’t really want to do it. “Well?” she asked him.

Scorpious had turned rather pink in the face from this argument and James and Mason were looking between them with amusement and what looked suspiciously like respect for Rose’s attempt at naughty behavior.

Albus felt suddenly ill, “Fine. When it says that I really belong in Slytherin I’ll leave Albus alone and if it doesn’t then you have to do something for me.”

Rose flushed as if he had asked her to start parading around in her underwear and Albus thought inexplicably of the women’s panties he had made the other day and almost laughed. “Like what?”

“Oh, you’ll know when I ask.” Scorpious said with an evil grin.

Sue Corner said, “I’m going to write this down so you can’t make anything else up later!” she warned while taking out a quill and parchment from out of nowhere.

Albus groaned, “Scorpious, someone is out there killing Death Eater kids and this is your bright idea?”

“Well, Hogwarts is safe, isn’t it?” Scorpious asked him blandly, his grey eyes fixed on Rose like a hawk stalking a big plump mouse.

“Not if Zabini is a vampire,” Albus said too loudly.

Just then, a dark, menacing shadow fell over the little group and James let out a loud, “Holy shi—” that was covered over by Rose squealing and dragging Sue Corner away, shooting furious looks at Scorpious, “If I really belong in Gryffindor you owe me, Malfoy!”

“I bet I do,” Scorpious spat nastily as she flounced off.

Albus and Scorpious then turned to look up at the tall, dark form of Professor Zabini as he glared down at the two of them.

They opened their mouths to say something but Albus was too busy wondering if he never smiled because he had large, pointed fangs or sharp, tiny rows of teeth that wanted to tear into his throat.

It was unsure how long he had been standing there but a wave of bitterness washed over him, so thick and suffocating that Albus had to take a step back, “Well, boys, it seems like my secret is out.” Zabini murmured dryly.

“So you are a vampire?” James blurted stupidly.

Zabini glanced at him annoyingly, “Far from it, Mr. Potter and Potter Jr.” He said in regard to Albus gaping at him with his mouth hanging open. His dark eyes scanned over Scorpious’s face, “I’d like to have a word with you Mr. Malfoy.”

“Why?” Scorpious choked.

Bending really low, Zabini stared him full in the face and said coldly. “I’m interested in sucking your blood.” Scorpious’s mouth fell open as the professor suddenly laughed, gripped him by his upper arm and started to lead the flailing boy out of the Great Hall, “really, a vampire? Do these brats ever come up with anything original?” he asked to no one in particular.

“No wonder he’s so bitter,” James said as Albus panicked, “I’d be pissed off too if people thought I was a vampire”

Albus was wondering if Scorpious was going to wind up in the Daily Prophet after all but he hastily shook that horrible thought off. Who was he going to talk to? Scorpious was his friend, “Well, people think you’re a prat so what’s the difference?”

James frowned and tossed a slice of bacon at him that barely missed because Albus had started walking out of the Hall. “Where are you going?”

“To check on Scorpious!” Albus said and then he froze.

What could he do against a vampire anyway? He didn’t know any spells and vampires could be very powerful, he supposed, as strong as dead things could be anyway. Inspiration struck him and he ran out of the Hall, “if I don’t come back, write Mum and Dad!”

“Can I have your Gobstone set if you die?” James yelled after him.

Albus didn’t answer him because he knew what he was going to do would sound crazy to anyone who was going to be watching but he didn’t care. He could imagine Scorpious now, writhing in agony while eerie horror music played in the background just as Zabini sank his teeth into his pale throat…

 

 

 


	4. The Match

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Albus rushes into danger to rescue Scorpious from the clutches of Zabini the Vampire, only to discover that things are not what they seem. When a Defense Against the Dark Arts class goes terribly wrong, thanks to Rose's temper, Albus and Scorpious are forced to realize that they have, and never will, possess any luck.

To say that Albus Severus Potter calmly walked into the greenhouse where Professor Longbottom was preparing for the morning’s first lesson would be a humorous lie. To say that he ran in screaming and pulling his hair out would be a tad bit closer to the truth as he waved his arms up and down hysterically, screaming that Zabini was going to kill Scorpious and that James was going to steal his Gobstone set that Aunt Angie had given him for Christmas last year.

“What are you talking about, Albus?” Professor Longbottom asked him as he was being led forcefully out of the greenhouse and towards the castle, or to some dark, dank hole where Zabini was currently feeding on Scorpious.

Albus stared up into his round, scarred face and cried. “Zabini is going to eat Scorpious! _Eat_ him!” he waved his arms more so that he could emphasize his point.

“What?” Professor Longbottom asked him worriedly. “Is this another prank from James? Kids have been saying he’s a vampire for years,” he said with an eye roll.

“He said he was going to drink his blood!” Albus cried as he dragged his teacher and family friend toward the stone steps as fast as he could. “Hurry, he might already be getting rid of his body!”

Professor Longbottom sighed and let him drag him towards the dungeons but he didn’t say anything for a long time until they were halfway there. “What’s this all about anyway, Albus? I noticed that you weren’t having a good week. Why not visit Hagrid and talk about it with him?”

“Why do that when Scorpious is dying?” Albus cried furiously, staring up at him.

“Is this about that thing in the Daily Prophet? I assure you that Mr. Malfoy,” his lips thinned a little bit with his own personal memories, “is fine, Albus. You’ve chosen to have a rather interesting friend.”

Albus glared at him, “Not you too!”

Professor Longbottom sighed and said, “You can’t exactly know what it was like growing up with his father and then after what he did to Hermione—” he cut off at the look of horror on Albus’s face, “never mind it. Things change and he’s not his father and you’re not Harry you know.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Albus asked hotly.

He received a pat on his shoulder. “You’ve been putting too much pressure on yourself, Albus. All of your other professors were telling me about it, you have to take things in stride and be the kind of wizard you want to be. So you may not be good at much but you will be in time.”

Albus opened his mouth to say that he hadn’t been trying to impress anyone but that wasn’t really true.

Everyone expected such great things from him and he wasn’t his father, and he had heard that his father hadn’t even been such a great student at Hogwarts but that didn’t mean anything.

He had saved the Wizarding world! Albus couldn’t even save his friend from getting his throat ripped out! “…Okay.”

“Take it from me, when you really need to prove yourself you won’t hesitate to do it.” Professor Longbottom said with a grin. “I didn’t get these scars for nothing and I’ve still got my D.A. coin too.”

“Your what?” Albus asked him as they hurried to the dungeon where Zabini was still or probably finished eating Scorpious.

“Ah, youth,” Professor Longbottom said with a grin as they finally reached the classroom and he opened the door. Albus pushed him aside, expecting to see foggy cauldrons brimming with Scorpious stew or eerie music in the background as Zabini sipped the remainder of Scorpious’s blood from a long stemmed wine glass.

But none of this was happening.

Scorpious was sitting in front of Zabini’s desk, looking irritated but there was no blood, no wine glass and no eerie music, except in Albus’s head. “You’re alive?” he croaked stupidly to him.

“Potter Jr. How nice to see you again and…Neville?” Zabini asked with an eyebrow quirk that must have killed some person several miles away.

Professor Longbottom, Neville of course, merely smiled thinly at him. “Hullo, Blaise. Mr. Potter was under the impression that you were eating Mr. Malfoy.”

“Of course I’m not eating Mr. Malfoy. I like my eleven year old boys grilled, not raw.” Zabini said, joking and Albus thought he saw a fallen angel out the window at his sudden attempt at humor.

“Funny, Blaise. Are you finished with Mr. Malfoy?” Professor Longbottom asked him blandly, his own face a bit grey by the disturbing sight of Zabini smiling.

Zabini smirked a little more and Scorpious paled at the horrible image, “Quite. Mr. Malfoy, I will see you in class for your lesson and let’s hope that you can actually brew a potion and create something instead of making a complete laughingstock out of yourself. Though I think that Potter Jr. will have a rougher time than you will,”

Albus opened his mouth to tell him that yes, maybe they both were horrible at Potions but the words never came because Scorpious was walking towards him and looking worse than before. “I’ll see you at dinner then?” Professor Longbottom asked Zabini.

“I’m afraid not, Neville, I have some business to attend to tonight.” Zabini said coldly and to no one in particular, his eyes now on a scrap of parchment on his desk, a quill appearing out of nowhere in his hand.

Professor Longbottom looked only mildly concerned and said. “Well, I hope you have more success this time.” And with a polite nod he ushered the two boys out of the room, “now, boys, you might want to head back down to the Great Hall to get something to eat.”

“I’m not really that hungry,” Albus muttered, now really embarrassed that he had been that stupid, but still looking at Scorpious’s neck for bite marks.

“Well, what’s your first lesson?” Professor Longbottom asked.

“Potions, but it doesn’t start for another thirty minutes,” Scorpious answered.

Professor Longbottom nodded thoughtfully and said. “Why don’t you two come have tea with me for a moment? I was just finishing up with today’s lesson on Devil’s Snare when you ran in screaming at me, Albus.”

“I didn’t run in!”

“But you screamed?” Scorpious asked him, laughing.

Albus stared at him incredulously, “I thought you were being eaten!” he said while rolling his eyes and staring at the cracked stone ceiling, it looked like someone had shot a curse up there a long time ago and it had never been repaired properly.

“I might as well have been! Do you know what that—” he said something that made Professor Longbottom raise his brows at him warningly, “is making me do? He’s making me enter a dueling club with the other Death Eater kids! Like hell, like I’ll waste my time doing that, over Merlin’s sagging left—”

“Mr. Malfoy!” Professor Longbottom said sharply as Albus started to roar with laughter, his mood lifting.

Albus was slightly interested in a dueling club; his own mother had started her own for the kids in the neighborhood. He was actually pretty good but not as good as James, who took a really strong fascination with showing off for the rest of the kids, mostly girls, but had a bad habit of blowing things up. “I’d like to join!”

“Are you mental?” Scorpious cried, “I’m gonna be stuck in a room with Goyle and the rest of those kids for five hours a day, learning how to protect myself from some nutter that wants to kill us! _They_ might kill me before a vampire gets a chance!”

Albus hadn’t counted on that and he said. “Well, I still want to join, it might be fun. You know, I might get killed too, so you’re not alone,” he joked and Scorpious scowled at him, “there has to be another teacher there, right?”

“Just Zabini and that’s like being alone with a gargoyle,” Scorpious muttered.

Professor Longbottom glanced back at Albus, “You know. I might like this idea more if Professor Smith is with you. The two of you haven’t had Defense Against the Dark Arts yet have you? Though, now that I’m thinking about it, he might be pretty useless in that area,” he muttered.

Albus wasn’t really sure what he meant by that yet but he pushed it from his mind as he and Scorpious went with him to his office and shared a pleasant thirty minutes by drinking tea and listening to Professor Longbottom tell them about his adventures with the D.A.

He had even shown them his coin, which he always carried around with him for luck. When Professor Longbottom opened the door for them after their chat, Albus felt a little better but Scorpious was still grouchy and mean as they finally went to Potions.

Apparently everyone had heard about what had been in the Daily Prophet because the whole room was staring at the pair of them as if they had two heads each and Albus frowned annoyingly.

He had had enough of this for one day.

“Stay back, mad Death Eater on the loose! Stay back, he might start speaking Parseltongue!” Albus screamed shrilly, waving his arms around his head and spinning around, screaming, “Stay back, he’s already got me wanting a Dark Mark!”

Scorpious was staring at him in bafflement and then burst out laughing, doubling over as Albus jerked away from him, squealing girlishly. His Potions class stared at him in amazement and some started laughing while others, like Sally Creevey, were glowering at them in disgust.

“That is _quite_ enough Potter Jr. Sit down this instant!” Zabini shouted, “Ten points from Gryffindor!”

Albus gave Scorpious a wide grin, thumping him on the back, “Sorry, mate, had to do it.” He said, chuckling.

“Thanks, Albus, now everyone has another reason to stare at me,” Scorpious said good naturedly.

Albus saw that Sally Creevey was eyeing him with contempt and his cheeks turned pink, he didn’t want her of all people staring at him like that.

Lavender Patil on the other hand was still giggling and her dark cheeks were very red, at least someone found him amusing, “People stare at me all the time too, you know. Harry Potter, person who killed Voldemort remember? My dad?” Albus said with an exaggerated eye roll.

Scorpious grinned. “And you know my dad right? Former Death Eater, tried to kill the Headmaster? Now married to a Muggle-born?”

“Never heard of him,” Albus said, frowning.

A wide smile spread over his friend’s pale face. “Never heard of yours either. Weird, huh?” he asked and they both laughed.

“You two sit down this instant! Ten points from Gryffindor Malfoy and ten more points Potter Jr. for your cheek!” Zabini roared and the two of them gasped, they had just lost thirty points for their House.

Sally Creevey was really glaring at them now. “Honestly, some people have no manners or class!” she hissed to Lavender Patil hotly. “We’ll never win the House Cup at this rate!”

“She’s such a chipmunk,” Scorpious snarled as they sat down and began taking out their ingredients for a Bitter Tonic. Apparently Zabini was angrier than they’d thought, Albus noted wryly.

They sat together in silence for a second before Albus whispered with a teasing grin, “You don’t _really_ speak Parseltongue do you?” he asked, referring to the supposed dark talent of speaking to snakes, something Voldemort and his father had both been able to do.

Scorpious doubled over his potions book, still chortling, tears streaming down his face, but he never answered Albus and that was only a minor concern.

Creating a Bitter Tonic took up most of their time and neither of them were surprised when they received very low marks, just as Zabini had predicted.

 

Albus later found out why Professor Longbottom didn’t have much faith in their Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher because surely, not one person could be so smug without getting a permanent big head.

Professor Smith was tall, blonde and had a way of walking around the classroom that demanded that he be heard. That he be noticed for something because surely, he had done so much! Albus was glowering at him a little bit as he told them what he knew about ghosts, Inferi and for some reason a Basilisk. Only noting rather coldly how Albus’s father had saved the school from one in his second year.

Scorpious was smirking throughout most of the lesson but Albus was wondering if he was trying not to grimace. Both of them had noticed Rose and her friend Sue Corner in the room.

Rose had never been so angry with Albus before and he wondered if he would ever get to talk to her normally again, her cheeks were constantly red and her bushy hair was still standing up on end like crazed hay.

Did being in Ravenclaw bother her so much? Albus considered himself reasonably smart but Rose was by far the smartest person he knew and that didn’t mean that she was any less brave, at least she hadn’t been worried about getting into Slytherin!

He still sort of had the feeling that he had been Sorted there and that something had gone wrong, but he knew that he was just being silly, his imagination tended to get the best of him.

Once his nerves started, it was quite possibly going to be the worst moment of his life because he got so nervous, he wished that he could be more like Freddie and James, who just leapt instead of wasting time being skittish all the time.

What would his father do about a rogue vampire that was attacking Death Eater kids? Would he feel sorry for one of them if he had a friend that could be a victim? From what he knew, his father hated Draco Malfoy and so did nearly everyone in his family, though he sort of guessed that it was for reasons that were too adult for his ears.

And what exactly had he done to his Aunt Hermione?

Maybe he called her Mudblood a lot and bullied her, his aunt was a really nice person but she could hold a grudge worse than Rose. Apparently that was where she got it from; being stubborn ran in the family.

Albus thought about how to get Scorpious and Rose to forget about taking the Sorting Hat but could come up with nothing, his mind was currently a blank slate. “Mr. Potter apparently has something very interesting to focus on instead of the lesson,” Professor Smith drawled.

Albus jerked and looked up to see the man staring at him, his eyes narrowed pompously. Scorpious nudged him in the ribs, “Uh, sorry?”

There was a cackling, nasty laugh that sounded like nails being scraped over a chalkboard. “Sorry, he says! Defense Against the Dark Arts is a serious class, Potter, one that you must give all of your attention to! All of it or you’ll fall prey to dangerous things, like Dementors—”

“Dementors were banished from Azkaban!” Albus corrected.

“Or giant spiders,” his professor said loudly.

Albus thought hard. “I thought they only lived in the Forbidden Forest? When am I ever going to be needing to run from a giant spider? I’m not going in _there_ ,”

Scorpious laughed.

Professor Smith glowered at him warningly and continued on in a flourish that made Scorpious double over his desk with jitters. “Ah, yes, it would figure that Mr. Potter knows all about defensive strategy when his _famous_ father,” he spat the words out nastily, “has saved the Wizarding world! Come up and demonstrate for us a simple Shield Charm and _enlighten_ us all—”

Albus stared at him in shock. “What? I can’t do anything like that!”

“Your father was known for it. Or wait; was that the Disarming spell that everyone finds so impressive?” Professor Smith asked with an eye roll.

Albus felt his cheeks going hot and was just about to get up and show him how many sparks he could make out of his wand when Rose stood up. “ _I_ can do a Shield Charm!”

“Ms. Weasley is it?” Professor Smith asked her dully. “Oh, yes, I knew your mother, quite the genius.”

He said it in a way that made Albus want to punch him but Rose tossed her head up and said angrily. “That’s right, my mum _is_ a genius and my dad is really brave!”

“Well, I’m sure you could do something…” Professor Smith drawled and then called her up to the front of the room and demonstrated extravagantly to the rest of the class. “I’ll give you a chance. Shield Charms are very advanced magic, even for a famous daughter of Hermione Granger.”

Albus called. “Go for it Rosie!”

She glanced at him and frowned. “My mum’s name is Hermione _Weasley_ ,” she corrected to Professor Smith.

He rolled his eyes, looking bored and arrogant. “So it is, then.”

Rose had her wand drawn and Albus wondered if she was just looking for a fight because she was already so mad. Albus suddenly had a bad feeling about this, “I’m ready when you are Professor.”

Scorpious was sneering. “Oh, this should be interesting.”

Albus glared at him. “Oi, that’s my cousin you’re dissing!”

Scorpious shrugged.

Professor Smith held out his wand lazily. “All right, I’ll use a simple spell on you, Weasley,” he said with a sneer. He flicked his wand out at her, “petrificus totalus!”

Rose was fierce and Albus was holding his breath as she cried. “Protego!” and created a brilliantly strong Shield Charm that bounced the Binding Curse off and around the room, everyone ducking as quickly as they could.

Albus and Scorpious jumped aside as it whizzed by and then heard a strange, wailing scream. Both of them looked around to see that Professor Smith had hidden underneath his desk and was obviously terrified as the spell just breezed by him, “Ten points from Ravenclaw, Weasley!” he cried.

Rose stuffed her wand away angrily. “You were bullying Albus and all I did was give you a taste of your medicine you big coward!” Albus and Scorpious were pushing their jaws back up, what had gotten into her? “ _I_ know who _you_ are! My Aunt Ginny told me all about you,” she spat. “You’re that Zacharias Smith! Didn’t get any glory when you were in school so you try to build yourself up into something better than what you are!”

Professor Smith shoved himself up, looking furious. “H-how dare you! _Twenty_ points from Ravenclaw, Weasley!”

Rose was beyond rational thought. “Uncle Harry saw you running! When the Death Eaters came you were the first person that ran out of the Great Hall!”

The class crowed with delight at this news.

Professor Smith gaped at her audacity. “You—” he held out his wand and Albus and Scorpious were on him before he could even move, tackling him to the ground.

“Don’t you point a wand at my cousin you git!” Albus cried while punching every inch of him he could get.

Rose gasped. “Albus, stop it!”

Professor Smith winced and cursed as the pair of them pounded him as hard as they could get, Scorpious even sinking his teeth into his forearm. “ENOUGH!” someone shouted roughly.

Immediately the scuffle was over.

Albus and Scorpious were yanked up roughly by their arms as Professor Zabini held them up, scruffy and furious. “What in the name of Merlin is going on in here?!” he cried angrily.

Professor Smith was panting and there was a slightly bloody sheen to his nose. “Where’d you come from?” he gasped, rubbing his throat as the entire class grew silent, some students sinking into their chairs.

“Ms. Creevey ran down to my dungeons not too long ago, shouting about ruffians and I figured, who could it be but Potter Jr. and Mr. Malfoy?” Zabini sneered furiously as the two boys stared at him in horror. “Now what is this all about?”

Professor Smith said hastily. “The pair of them attacked me while I was giving a lesson. Obviously they’re so used to getting attention that they can’t stand not having the spotlight on anyone else!”

Rose cried. “That’s not true! You were bullying—”

Zabini glared over at her and she recoiled. “And why would a teacher bully a student, Ms. Weasley?” he asked, his voice sounding like slime as he said her name.

Albus glared up at him, he had bullied them all this week! “But you—”

Zabini glared down at his hot face. “I did _what_ , Potter Jr.?” he asked menacingly and Albus reeled back as Scorpious cursed.

“What are you going to do with them, Blaise?” Professor Smith asked him eagerly as all eyes turned to him.

Zabini glowered down at the pair of them, so angry that he looked exactly like a vampire and Albus saw Scorpious blanch. “Well, the three of them— yes, that’s right Ms. Weasley, you too, are going to be enjoying a fine time with me next week. _Every_ night in detention for this little wrestling match.”

“What?” Rose cried, her eyes going wide.

“You heard me!” Zabini shouted. “I should take fifty points each for your audacity to even attack a teacher but I know what to do,” he said with a satisfied smile as the three students stared at him in terror. “Expect a letter from your parent’s tomorrow morning.”

Scorpious was more afraid than either Rose or Albus, though he noted that his cousin’s face had grown pale. “No! Anything but that!”

“That’s too bad Mr. Malfoy! Your mother is going to be very displeased with you and I will give every nasty little detail to your father and to _him_! You know who I mean by _him_ don’t you?” Zabini asked furiously.

Scorpious had gone white with terror. “No not him! Anyone but him!”

Albus was growing concerned, “Who—?”

“Oh, yes,” Zabini sneered. “Now, take a seat, all three of you! If I hear one more disturbance from Ms. Creevey I’ll personally wrestle you _and_ drink your blood!” he released the boys roughly, “go, now!”

Scorpious was shaking so hard that Albus could barely wonder how he didn’t bite his own tongue. He felt an inexplicable hatred for Sally Creevey, she really was a blabbering chipmunk and it wasn’t possible for two eleven year old boys to be cursed with so much bad luck.

 

 

 


	5. Mashed Potatoes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Albus and Scorpious have sunk to a new low. The moment of doom is only made worse when Rose, whose temper hasn't been abated, comes up and suggests that they steal the Sorting Hat during dinner. Both boys are tired, cranky and hungry but when someone starts bringing up Scorpious's family, dinner is left untouched, Albus makes another unlikely friend and being eaten by a vampire has never sounded so good.

His hatred for Sally Creevey lasted for nearly the rest of the day but he forgave her once she walked up to him and explained. “Well, I had to do it! We’re already way behind in the running for the House Cup! Doesn’t that mean anything to anyone around here? I swear; I’ll personally hex that Malfoy and you, if you don’t get your act together!” she cried vehemently before she’d stomped off.

Albus wondered why he hadn’t had anything clever to say.

Scorpious on the other hand called her something rather nasty when she walked off but both of them were too exhausted to argue over it. The horrors of the day had worn them both out. And plus, not only had they received a detention with Zabini the Vampire for the entire next week. But Albus was also worried about the fact that Scorpious had to take those dueling lessons with the rest of the Death Eater kids.

Goyle, on his way to the Great Hall for dinner was one of the first to point out evilly with a few other Slytherin students. “Scared, Malfoy? Can’t wait to have you all to myself soon! Teach your dad about getting involved with Mudbloods—”

“Goyle!” Professor Chang, who was their Transfiguration teacher cried as she was walking past. “Twenty points from Slytherin! In my office right now!” she commanded, grabbing him by the ear and dragging him off.

Scorpious laughed at this and then sobered once they entered the Great Hall, all eyes turning to them. “Great,” he muttered.

Albus groaned and they walked towards the Gryffindor table but had barely even gotten there before Rose ran up to them, looking furious again. Scorpious rolled his eyes, “Would you give it a rest? I’m tired, I’m hungry and I think Smith might have punched me in the ba—”

“I want to do it tonight!” Rose cried.

Scorpious’s face turned a little pink and Albus gave him a warning look but it was too late. “Without asking me out first? You sure do move fast, Weasley.”

Rose turned beet red and turned her chin up at him. “Not in your life, Malfoy!” she stammered and Albus tried hard not to laugh. “I want to steal the Hat tonight while everyone is at dinner,” she whispered fiercely and Albus gaped at her.

“Who are you and what have you done to my cousin?” Albus asked wearily.

Scorpious snorted. “I see the same bushy red hair and freckles as always,” he said while she glared at him.

Rose said, “And I see the same blonde haired prat!”

Scorpious flushed, “Well, no one asked for you to be coming up here, asking for dates—”

“I never said anything like that! Honestly, Malfoy, you wouldn’t know anything _about_ dates, girls don’t go out with ferrets,” Rose started.

Albus held up his hands and gave them both a look that had them shutting up immediately. “Merlin, Rose, what’s wrong with you? We’re already going to be in enough trouble with our parents and then Zabini,” he said with a low moan of despair, “what else do you want to happen? Dumped in the Black Lake and served to the giant squid’s babies?”

Rose folded her arms and tapped her foot. “It won’t matter if we get into any more trouble! No one will find out about it, I just have to do this!” she said and Albus knew that she had inherited this temper and recklessness from her father.

Scorpious gave her a dull stare. “Why does this matter so much to you anyway?”

“Why did it matter to you not to be in Slytherin?” Rose shot back, now looking at them both.

“Well, we didn’t want to get poisoned,” Albus said amicably.

“Or stabbed—”

“Or beaten up—”

“Or asked about our dads, that’s why.” Scorpious finished dryly. “What’s your excuse, Weasley?”

Albus was curious about this too. “You’ve been grouchy and mean all week and you won’t even talk to me or James.”

Rose laughed dryly. “You did not even just say that, Al.”

Albus grinned. “Well, I can understand why you wouldn’t want to talk to James, but I’d listen to you. At least I’d try,” he said, knowing that listening to a girl complaining could take hours, days and years that he didn’t want to waste.

“I know that I belong in Gryffindor, I just know it! James and everyone has been making fun of me for not being one of them,” Rose started and she seemed to explode a little and he was reminded of a bright red apple. “Freddie and Louis,”

“You’re related to Louis the Prefect?” Scorpious asked. “Figures.”  
Rose interrupted him hotly. “I said Loui _s_ , as in _Louie_ , pronounced in the _French_ way, dummy.” She turned to Albus, “Even Teddy made fun of me!”

Albus shrugged. “They make fun of everyone. Teddy and Fred were in Gryffindor but Louis’s in Hufflepuff,” he pointed out.

Scorpious laughed.

Rose ignored all of this. “I want to be a Gryffindor!” she sniffled, “I hate it up at Ravenclaw Tower, I don’t have anyone to talk to besides Sue!” she said. “Aunt Luna’s sons are so weird. I can’t get a straight answer out of either of them!”

“Who?” Scorpious asked.

“Lysander and Lorcan are our Aunt Luna’s sons.” Albus said.

“Loony Luna that owns the Quibbler?”

“She’s not loony and she’s not really our aunt but she’s just as is,” Albus said with a shrug, “she’s the Divination teacher here.”

Scorpious merely shrugged his shoulders, looking bored already. Albus could see him growing crankier and crankier, “Anyways, but I thought only one of them was in Ravenclaw?” Albus asked Rose curiously.

“Lorcan comes to visit, he’s a Slytherin.” She said distastefully. “I hate it there, I don’t have any friends, most people think that just cause our parents are famous that I expect things and—”

Albus stared at her sympathetically, “Well, why didn’t you say anything sooner, Rose? We’re going through the same thing!” he said with a relieved sigh. “How do you think I feel? I look just like my dad, and Scorpious looks just like _his_ dad!”

Rose sniffled and wiped at her eyes. “I want to be in Gryffindor with people I know!” she cried.

Scorpious narrowed his eyes on her in revulsion. “Oh, don’t be such a baby. We’ll help you get the bloody Sorting Hat.”

“Right now?” Rose asked.

Albus looked around at the House ghosts that were floating between tables and at the many students that were staring at the three of them. “Uh,” he said, “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“So do you even _have_ an idea?” Scorpious asked irritably.

Rose did. “Albus, you know what to do.”

Albus bowed his head. “Fine, but I wasn’t going to use it for this.”

Scorpious raised his eyebrow. “What are you talking about?”

Rose smiled suddenly and she looked like the girl that he knew instead of the raving banshee that she’d been for the last few days. “I know where they keep it too!” she said with a grin.

“Since when?” Albus asked her.

She turned away from them, “Honestly, Albus, don’t you _ever_ pay attention?” she asked and then when Albus was growing rather annoyed with her she looked back. “I’ll send a sign at the right time!”

Albus rolled his eyes and led Scorpious back over to the Gryffindor table and heard Chris Finnegan say, “Your cousin is _amazing_ , Al! I’ve never seen anyone do a Shield Charm so young, not even my dad!”

“ _I_ can produce a Shield Charm stronger than that!” Sally Creevey said loudly before Albus could even reply to Chris’s sudden interest in Rose’s fighting ability.

“Who asked you?” Scorpious shouted furiously as he dumped food on his plate, obviously in one of his moods.

Sally Creevey narrowed her eyes on him and turned to Lavender Patil, “Really, Lav, some people just have no class. You’d think he’d be a little nicer when he’s going to be killed by a vampire soon!”

The table fell silent with a hush and even James and Mason, who were laughing at some stupid joke, took notice. Scorpious gripped his steak knife and glanced at Sally Creevey thoughtfully and Albus cried, “Don’t even think about it!”

“Would you stop defending her?!” Scorpious shouted angrily.

Lavender Patil was the one who actually said something to Sally Creevey.

She was bending over a Charms book and flicking her wand aimlessly around, making snow fall over everyone around her and since Albus was sitting beside her, Scorpious on his right and Chris Finnegan and Elliot Thomas across from him, they were coated in seconds.

He had never really heard her utter a word, other than yes or no but she said to her friend, “If you really were so talented you wouldn’t need to brag about it. Give us all a rest and shut up for a change, Sally,” she muttered.

Albus grinned widely and then took in the hurt look on Sally’s face. “It’s not like _all_ of us want you to shut up.”

“Speak for yourself mate,” Elliot Thomas said dryly and Scorpious nodded fervently.

Chris Finnegan was wiping snow off of his shoulders. “She does have a point, Sally, you never really seem to stop talking.”

“I have a lot to say!” she said hotly. There were sparkling tears in her eyes, “but no one wants to listen to anything, they’re all really _happy_ that a Death Eater is a Gryffindor and is losing us House points!”

That had everyone looking at Albus and Scorpious accusingly. “If you two hadn’t have tried to beat up Professor Smith we wouldn’t have lost so many points today!” Sally Creevey cried. “And has no one remembered that Malfoy is a Death Eater kid and that a vampire is going to kill him?”

Scorpious glowered at her and Albus told her to do something with her opinion that he would have never dared to say in front of his parents, which made James crow with laughter. “You make it sound like he’s the only one here, Hogwarts is filled with Death Eater grandchildren,” Lavender Patil said pleasantly.

“Almost all of them are in Slytherin, Lav, not Gryffindor!” Sally Creevey protested angrily. “And that’s exactly where _he_ needs to be! He probably already has a Dark Mark!”

Everyone was looking uncomfortable and even James said, “That’s enough, okay? Can we all just eat and let it go?” but Sally was going on in a rant that seemed to poison the entire table and Albus wondered if they were sharpening pitch forks and lighting torches under the table by the time she finally inhaled to take a breath.

It had been nothing he hadn’t heard before about Scorpious this past week but to hear it said so loudly and with so much venom made his stomach squirm with irritation and hot anger.

He knew that plenty of Death Eaters had given his father, mother and other relatives a hard time after the War and had heard a lot of awful things that they had tried to do to each of them but he wondered how Scorpious must feel with dealing with this every day.

Not only had his father been a Death Eater, but his father had changed his entire life around and was against this sort of hatred. Ironically that only caused more problems for his son, who had to deal with the offspring of his enemies for another six years.

Right then, Albus really wanted to punch a girl and he wasn’t sure if he would feel sorry about it if he did, no matter if it was Sally Creevey or not. No one should run their mouth the way she did and get away with it.

Suddenly, Scorpious stood and Albus was about to go with him but he said. “No, you stay.” His voice sounded oddly calm and his eyes were tinted with a red ring, Albus hadn’t known that anyone could get that angry. “I know when I’m not wanted.”

“You don’t have to—”

James interrupted. “Are you going to eat that drumstick Malfoy?”

Scorpious handed him his plate. “It’s not poisoned, don’t look at me like that Potter.” He sneered and then, taking a bowl of potatoes, he said, “I’m going back up to the dorm.”

Albus had a feeling that he was going to be sitting in the dark and pulling the wings off of butterflies when he wandered up there later. “All right, I’ll see you later.” He reminded pointedly and Scorpious rolled his eyes.

Casually, he got out of his seat, refusing to look at anyone though Albus noted that no one dared to look him in the face and he had to roll his eyes, it wasn’t as if he would kill them from a single look.

As far as he knew, his father had closed off the Chamber of Secrets several years ago so there was no threat of a blonde haired basilisk that he knew of.

There was a tense moment as Scorpious walked past Sally Creevey, humming to himself. “I knew that he was just all talk,” she said. “Not really as scary as he—yeek!” she screamed as Scorpious came back around and dumped the bowl of potatoes on her pretty blonde head.

The entire table roared with laughter and even Albus burst into a wide grin as Scorpious placed his hands in the deep pockets of his robes and walked out of the Great Hall. Luckily for him most of the teachers were eating and engaged in conversation (Zabini of course looked like he was doing neither of these things) and Albus tried to keep his eyes averted from Hagrid, who had spotted Scorpious leaving with a curious expression on his whiskery face.

It wouldn’t do to get into trouble again tonight, Albus really wanted Scorpious and Rose to get along better and the last thing he needed was for him to get landed in detention for the night. Sally Creevey meanwhile was standing up, dripping with mashed potatoes and flinging her hair everywhere.

“T-that—” she couldn’t even get the words out as she darted out of the Great Hall too, apparently to the dorm but Albus had a feeling that she was going to the girl’s bathroom or to Madame Brown, the assistant school nurse.

James and Mason were still choking as they tried to regain their breathing. “You know what? Death Eater kid or not, that kid’s all right with me, Al,” he said as he wiped tears from his eyes.

Albus glowed with triumph, “So you’ll be his friend too, right?”

“Of course not! I’m not having Mum and Dad on my case, they do that enough already. And by the way, I’m looking forward to your Howler. Even _I’ve_ never beaten up a teacher before!” James said, nodding in approval. “I think I might say I know you now, Albus.”

Albus rolled his eyes. “You should have seen that guy though! He was gonna shoot a spell at Rose because he got mad that she was _right_! I wish that I _had_ beaten him up, what a git,” he said sourly.

Mason tapped James on the shoulder. “That reminds me that we have to put nifflers in Louis the Prefects dorm tomorrow. His mum just sent him a shiny new watch that you know he’s going to brag about.”

Albus glanced down at Louis the Prefect, who was trying to chat up a pretty black girl that looked as if she were rotting on the inside. “Why does he hate you so much anyway?” he asked, turning back to his brother.

“Who knows? It might have had something to do with him trying to hook up with Victoire,” James said in reference to their pretty part veela cousin that was in Gryffindor House also.

Albus hadn’t had a chance to really pay attention to the rest of his cousins because he had been having such a horrible time, but Victoire was focusing on her NEWTS so she didn’t have much time for him either.

Mason nodded as he rubbed his chin. “And I think it’s mainly because you figured out how to Stun and dragged him out onto the Quidditch pitch in his underwear, covered in Butbutuber pus last year.”

Albus was laughing and could understand why Headmistress McGonagall had given him such stern looks over her evening speeches. His brother was a menace and Louis the Prefect was going to get one more Potter on his hate list, it would have to be him because he wasn’t sure if he had it in him to bully Sally Creevey, even if she did deserve it.

No one tried to apologize about what Sally had said, though Elliot Thomas and Chris Finnegan tried to get him involved in conversations about Quidditch and how they were going to get through all of their History of Magic homework. It wasn’t the same without Scorpious and he found himself talking to Lavender Patil, “You know, I’ve never heard you talk before.”

“Sally Creevey is annoying,” Lavender Patil said softly. Albus could see that she was being very sincere and thought her serious face was a little cute, “she goes on and on about how great her father is, how he’s going to change things.”

Albus watched James trying to stuff as many grapes into his mouth as possible as Mason counted before turning away; he knew that wasn’t going to end well. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know what _she_ means,” Lavender corrected while avoiding his eyes.

Albus wondered if Sally might have been bragging but didn’t outwardly say this because the two of them were friends. “Anyways, thanks for sticking up for Scorpious earlier, no one else would have done it.”

Lavender flushed pink, looking very pleased and waved her wand around in a nervous flick that made an entire slush of snow fall on them. She apologized profusely, “I didn’t mean to do it!” she cried but Albus was laughing and wiping it out of his hair and robes, “sometimes I just get a little too overexcited.”

“Don’t worry about it!” Albus said as they walked out of the Great Hall together, dinner now over and the teachers expecting them to all climb into bed.

Too bad that he was going to be busy breaking about a thousand school rules.

Lavender smiled up at him, her smile genuine and sweet. “I could if you want, Potter.” She said as her cheeks continued to glow red, like twin suns.

Albus stopped just as they were in the corridor, students milling sleepily past them and said with a smile. “Call me Albus, but please don’t call me Potter Jr.” He said with an eye roll.

“O-okay,” Lavender blushed.

He wasn’t sure what she was blushing so much about but shrugged it off and walked towards Gryffindor Tower with her, “Do you and Sally hang out all the time?” he asked her.

Lavender frowned a little. “For some reason she latched onto me but I don’t mind, I don’t have a lot of friends. I just wish she would shut up sometimes,” she sighed.

Albus felt his lips twitching. “She can’t be that bad.”

“You have no idea. _You_ don’t have to share a dorm with her.” Lavender murmured, but then her dark eyes narrowed. “Though, I noticed you wouldn’t mind.”

Albus flushed bright red and stammered. “T-that’s really not—”

“I don’t care,” Lavender said tightly. “No one notices me and I’m not really all that pretty,” she said without looking at him. “And I’m not really brave either; just smart and I don’t know how I wound up in Gryffindor.”

Albus had a keening image of Rose saying something similar earlier and found himself frowning. Why did it really matter anyway? He knew he couldn’t talk, seeing as he had gotten what he’d wanted but he hadn’t noticed how much the others around him had been just as concerned. “The Sorting Hat doesn’t make mistakes. You just need to grow into yourself,” he said lamely, thinking of what Professor Longbottom had told him earlier that day.

Lavender stared at him thoughtfully for a moment. “But I don’t know if I’ll ever belong in this House. If I even _see_ a giant squid I think I might faint,” her cheeks turned slightly green.

“I heard it doesn’t eat the students though.” Albus tried to reassure, though he wouldn’t be taking a dip in the Black Lake anytime soon, just to be certain.

Her cheeks turned greener and they had to stop for a moment as she collected her breathing. “I hate water.” She said in a low whisper, “I almost drowned once, you know.”

Albus could imagine that swimming was difficult for her. “I heard. Why’d your family think you were gonna be all Muggle anyway?”

Lavender paused, hand over her mouth and he hoped she wouldn’t throw up.

Eventually she said, “My Mum doesn’t have any idea who my dad is. It was more of a p-passion sort of thing,” she said hastily, flushing. “They wanted her to marry a pureblood boy but she ran off with my dad and he left her.”

Albus frowned. “Who is your mum? My dad might know her.”

“Parvati Patil,” Lavender said shortly.

His dad had mentioned her once or twice. “I think they were in the same House together.”

That made her smile. “And _we’re_ in the same House together now,” this seemed to cheer her up a lot. “I’m happier now, you’re very nice.”

Albus couldn’t say anything to that, feeling a little embarrassed as he walked the rest of the way with her. She kept her dark head bent, smiling and once they reached the Fat Lady he finally noticed something. “Oh, wait a minute.” He said, touching her arm.

Lavender nearly jumped out of her skin. “I-is something wrong?”

“No, it’s nothing like that.” Albus said, thinking of vampires for a second as he reached out and wiped the melting snow off of her red cheeks, “You had snow right here.”

“T-thanks,” Lavender said, sounding like she’d been strangled.

“No problem,” he said as he wiped the remainder from the top of her head. “I can’t believe I was talking to you the entire time and didn’t notice.”

Lavender looked as if he had Stunned her and could barely get a word out to reply, merely stuttering and blushing the entire time while Albus tried to remember what the password was. “Ignorance!” she suddenly said.

“What?” Albus asked her.

The Fat Lady sighed annoyingly. “Finally, I thought you two were going to make me wait up all night!” and she swung open the portrait hole to let them inside.

 

 

 

 

 

 


	6. The Midnight Thieves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Albus and Lavender return to the common room and he goes to find Scorpious, hopefully not in some sort of fit. When his imagination fails him once again, he and his friend are forced to help Rose steal the Sorting Hat and because his name is Albus Potter and his friend is Scorpious Malfoy, nothing really goes as planned.

Albus hoped Scorpious wasn’t sitting in the dark taking the wings off of butterflies when he climbed into the portrait hole, his hand gripping Lavender Patil’s gently as she struggled to follow him inside. The Common Room was filled with students and there was a lot of noise going around so Albus barely heard her thanks as she gave his hand a nervous squeeze and darted off as fast as she could.

He watched her for a second or two before shrugging, thinking that all girls were weird and began looking for his friend. If he wasn’t taking the wings off of butterflies, he was kicking puppies. Unsure if there were any puppies around, Albus grew slightly sure that he was actually doing it but then thought that, once again, his imagination was really outlandish because he spotted Scorpious sitting alone at a study table.

He was glaring over a scrap of parchment and looking as if he would soon take his quill and run it through with it. “What are you up to?” Albus asked him once he slumped into a chair next to him.

Scorpious glanced up with a grin. “How’s Creevey?”

“Haven’t seen her,” Albus said with a laugh.

There was a ghost of a grin on Scorpious’s face. “She deserved it. I mean, how can one person be such a hag?” he asked while Albus shifted uncomfortably. “Oh, come off it, Albus, you could do better.”

“What are you talking about?” Albus asked; his voice oddly high.

Scorpious held up his hands. “Whatever. Anyway, I’ve got a lot on my mind right now,” he groaned, “how can one person have such a horrible first week at Hogwarts?”

“You’re not alone, if you want to be miserable, let’s do it together,” Albus offered while yawning loudly.

Scorpious grinned and pointed his quill at him. “You’re on Potter Jr.”

Albus ran his fingers through his hair and nearly banged his head on the table. “I can’t believe that we have a full week’s worth of detentions with him! He’ll eat our entrails,”

“Or boil our heads.”

“Make us sew each other’s lips shut.”

“Show us pictures of ugly feet.”

“And then make us read bad books!” Albus cried as the two of them started to laugh uproariously at their own fate. “All while listening to his horribly evil soundtrack of terror!”

Scorpious was laughing so hard that there were tears coming out of his eyes and he looked a lot calmer since the last time Albus had seen him. Admittedly, anyone would have dumped something on Sally Creevey’s head, “Albus, you know it’s going to be terrible.”

Albus nodded, his good mood shifting like smoke. “Of course it’s going to be terrible, it’s Zabini!”

“You don’t really think he’s a vampire do you?” Scorpious asked him now, looking suddenly grim. “That thing in the Prophet about the other Death Eater kids,” he said, “why would a vampire do something like that, just targeting them?”

Albus frowned and thought for a very long moment. “I don’t know much about vampires, maybe we could ask Hagrid? He knows a lot about monsters, he once had a pet hippogriff and everything!” He thought fondly of Buckbeak for a moment, it had been a real thrill riding him with James and Lily when they’d been kids all over the countryside. It was a shame that he had died, Hagrid had been miserable for months.

Scorpious looked a little interested in riding a hippogriff, but it was nothing like riding a broomstick but Albus didn’t want to ruin that for him. “Better yet, we could just go to the library.”

Albus waved that off. “Let’s just go to Rose, she’s practically a walking library.”

Scorpious scowled and folded his arms. “I’d rather not spend more time with your cousin than necessary.”

“You know, she’s really nice once you get to know her.” Albus said with a pleading look.

“I don’t doubt you but she’s just like everyone else.” Scorpious said as he leaned back in his chair and stared moodily up at the ceiling, “just because I look like my dad doesn’t mean I am my dad, as soon as I graduate I never want to see him again, being connected to a coward like that makes me twitch.”

Albus could never imagine having this sort of relationship with his father; he loved his father very much. Even though it was sort of irritating to live up to other’s expectations of him he would never say that his father was a coward and that he would be glad to be rid of him, it made him gloomy just thinking about it.

And then if he did that he would most likely be found; beaten up and buried if Lily or any of his cousins got a hold of him. They didn’t tolerate desertion in his family, they stuck together. For a moment he wondered what it was like for Scorpious, whose parents were divorced and suddenly being the first one being different in centuries. Albus was no Slytherin but he wasn’t exactly the sharpest tool in the shed either.

And he wasn’t funny or popular like James or constantly, sickeningly happy like Lily. Though he loved them both, he was what he was and that sometimes made him a little upset. There was no way that he was ever going to save the world.

At least Scorpious understood, he expected nothing and odd though it was, Albus thought it was a big fat relief. “So why is she so upset about being in Ravenclaw if she’s so smart?” Scorpious asked.

“I guess, well, our family always told us such great stories of when they were kids and growing up. Most of them,” Albus shrugged lamely, “ _all_ of them were in Gryffindor and they made it sound like some big adventure and I guess it really went to Rose’s head, her brother Hugo is a lot more laid back, he doesn’t care about that sort of thing.”

Scorpious stopped staring up at the ceiling but didn’t look at Albus. “I used to hear nothing but nightmares about Slytherin. Granddad didn’t hesitate to tell me what an honor it would be to follow in the family traditions, he went into too much detail.” He said with a cold look.

“My Granddad went to school with yours,” Albus said with sullenly. “They were Prefects together apparently.”

Scorpious seemed to find this announcement very amusing but went on as if he hadn’t heard him. “My Mum and Dad told me that it would make my whole seven years great, that it would open up all these opportunities but I found out some other things.”

He flicked his wand up at the ceiling and made red sparks fly out and create a small crater. “I might change my whole bedroom red and gold, just to make them mad.”

Albus wasn’t sure what to say to this at all so he stayed silent and eventually, when he was sure that Scorpious’s bad mood had dissipated enough, he reminded. “We do have to wait for Rose to give us the signal later.”

“Do you know what it is?” Scorpious asked him blandly.

“Oh, trust me.” Albus said with a chuckle, “I know what it is. Why’d you suddenly decide to do this anyway? Not just because of the bet or anything but is it because you really want to know?”

Scorpious turned his stormy grey eyes on Albus’s apprehensive green ones with a little smile. “Don’t you want to know? What if it was wrong? Can the Hat make mistakes?”

Albus wasn’t sure he liked the idea of putting the Hat on just so it could tell him that he really was a Slytherin. But if Scorpious and Rose could take a chance and do it; why not him? “I’ll do it. But if you’re right, don’t make Rose prance around in her underwear okay?”

Scorpious choked with laughter. “What is it with you and underwear?”

Albus rolled his eyes but laughed too and they spent the next few hours coming up with horrible things that they might be doing for their detention with Zabini and what their parents would say to them.

“Mum is going to be pissed and Lily will just laugh. Think I might get a spanking too,” he said gloomily, but then he brightened. “My Dad might think beating up a teacher is funny, especially after I tell him why.”

Scorpious nodded. “I was writing to Emily just when you came in to explain to her what happened, I know she’s going to write a fifteen inch long parchment sheet on how I’ve destroyed the family and blah, blah, blah. She’s always so bossy and anal,” Albus laughed. “Grow up!”

“When Zabini told you he would write to _him_ , who did he mean?” Albus asked as he thought of the little monster that might be Emily Malfoy. She was probably ten feet tall, about as wide as a tree trunk and had a really wide, thin mouth and why he pictured more of a troll in place of a human he would never know.

Scorpious frowned and looked at Albus in an assessing way, as if he were wondering if he would suddenly sprout tails. “My Granddad, he was threatening to write to him,” he said scathingly. “He’s been trying to…convert me.”

Albus wasn’t sure what he meant by that but as he was wondering just what kind of horrible person his granddad could be, there was a small explosion outside the portrait hole and it smelt suspiciously like…

“Holy Merlin, what the heck is that?” Scorpious asked as the foul odor seeped through the cracks, making the few students that were left in the Common Room flee to their dorms.

Lavender Patil was too busy reading her Charms book to notice what was going on, though Albus thought he saw her eyebrows curling with the power of the stench.

Albus pushed his robe to his nose and gagged a little, “She didn’t have to use all of them and it’s only eleven thirty!” he cried in outrage.

Scorpious stood up with him and they wandered over to the portrait hole and glanced back at the embers in the fire and quietness of the dorm.

Albus was fixing his wand up his sleeve as he tried to preserve his nose but it was of little use, the smell was simply revolting. “Dungbombs? Where’d she get those from?”

“Must’ve borrowed them from James or Mason earlier,” Albus coughed as he knocked on the portrait hole and whispered. “Rose, is that you?”

“No, it’s Merlin.” A drawling, arrogant voice said.

Scorpious groaned, “Why’d she send _you_?”

“Rose got into a conversation with the Gray Lady about house-elf rights and I thought I would at least bring you to her and then we could go to the you-know-where,” Sue Corner said with what Albus could imagine with an eye roll.

Albus said, “Why don’t we wait until she comes to us? We don’t have a lot of time for this!” he hissed back.

“Oh, don’t be such a wuss, Potter. Thought you were used to being—” Sue Corner broke off as she heard footsteps, “oh, here she is. Rose,” she hissed annoyingly, “talk about your mother’s work some other time, okay?”

“Sorry,” Rose panted. “She was really adamant that Lindolyn the Strange actually created a liberated house-elf army a hundred years ago. I mean, really, that’s completely ridiculous, it was obvious that Lindolyn _commanded_ them to go around the country trying to turn everyone into radishes but she just didn’t—”

“ _Rose_!” Albus hissed angrily as Scorpious stuffed his fist into his mouth to stifle his raucous laughter.

“Sorry, sorry, could you open up? Albus, did you, did you get it?” Rose asked hesitantly.

“I forgot!” Albus cried in aggravation.

Scorpious glowered. “Could we get this over with?”

Albus gave him a dry look and started running back to the boy’s dormitory and once he got there, he quietly opened the door and snuck inside.

He fumbled for his wand, going to his trunk, “Lumos,” he murmured and the tip of his wand lit, it was a good thing that James had taught him this spell (though James had done it so that he could properly sneak around at night doing only Merlin knows what) because he would have fallen flat on his face by now.

Getting on his knees, he opened his trunk, ignored the Gobstone set that was still there, but suspiciously mishandled and broken and sighed. “Dammit James,” he continued looking, pushing aside socks, Lily’s diary, and a few other things until he finally found what he was looking for.

Inhaling with relief, he picked up the Cloak and watched as it floated sensually over his fingers, more fluid than water and softer than silk. His father’s old Invisibility Cloak would come in handy tonight, though he wasn’t sure how all four of them were going to squeeze underneath it and not get caught by Filch.

Clutching it to his chest and slowly creeping back out, he was surprised to see that Scorpious had allowed the girls inside the Common Room. “What’s going on?” he asked.

Rose was looking around in awe, her own wand tip lit and Sue Corner was yawning and picking at her quill, which looked very sharp. Apparently she was going to still be recording what happened and he thought that was very annoying, “Wow, it’s so cozy looking!” Rose was saying.

“Our Common Room is cozier, we get a view of the mountains when we wake up, this is nothing.” Sue Corner said with another eye roll.

Scorpious aimed a kick at her but stopped when he saw the look Albus was giving him. “Anyway, are we ready? What’s this big idea of yours?”

Albus grinned at him, “You’ll see. Now, everyone, I’m not sure how we’re all gonna fit.” Rose pursed her lips. “What?”

“I was thinking that we could borrow it and then give it back to you.” Rose said with a sheepish expression.

Albus held the gift to his chest. “You know my dad gave this to me before I came to Hogwarts, I can’t just _give_ it to you!”

“What is it, a robe?” Scorpious asked curiously.

“An Invisibility Cloak, how dense are you?” Sue Corner asked.

Scorpious raised his fist threateningly.

Albus cut him off before he could whack her, “It's mine and I want to go anyway!” he said furiously. “You’re not just the only one who’s in on this, Rose!” he said stubbornly.

“It’s just for a little while Albus and what were you going to do with it anyway?” Rose asked annoyingly, her hand held out.

Albus didn’t want to tell her that he had been planning on sneaking into the Prefects bathroom with James, Mason and Scorpious to put chocolate in their bath water. “I was gonna use it for something serious!”

Rose rolled her brown eyes. “Oh, I’m sure you would have.”

Scorpious sighed. “Well, are we doing this or not? We’re wasting time here.”

“Would you all mind keeping quiet? I’m trying to read.” Lavender Patil said as she looked up from them from her veil of black hair. Her Charms book was poised on her lap and her wand lit as well and her eyes were slightly red from reading for so long, “and if you want to be invisible so bad why not use my Cloak?”

“You…you have a Cloak?” Rose asked doubtfully.

Lavender nodded annoyingly, and Albus grinned at her.

She immediately turned pink and even in the dim light he could see her eyes darting away from him, “My Mum gave it to me. She never says where she got it from but I think it was my dad’s, though she says she doesn’t know who he is.”

She said all of this glumly but Albus and the others exchanged uncomfortable looks. “Wait a moment, I had to steal it back from my sister Nora, she likes to swim naked in the Black Lake…” she stood up and ambled away towards the girl’s dorm.

“What an odd one,” Sue Corner said rudely.

“What a loudmouth you are,” Scorpious snapped back.

Albus was smirking, “I like her, she reminds me of Lily and Aunt Luna,” he said and Rose gave him a look as if he were insane. “She’s really smart too”

Scorpious snorted. “And scared of her own shadow.”

“True,” Albus said with a laugh. “But both of us were scared about the sea monsters—”

Rose turned to glare viciously at him for his stupidity. “There are no sea monsters! I wish that you wouldn’t listen to James. There are only Mermaids, Grindylows—”

“What are those?” Scorpious asked.

“Water demons, _honestly_ ,” Sue Corner said.

Rose went on as if they hadn’t interrupted her. “And the giant squid’s babies, there are _no_ sea monsters!”

Albus stared at her in disbelief. “Rose, I don’t know about you, but those sound like sea monsters to me.” His cousin threw up her hands in irritation.

A moment later Lavender Patil came back, her hair pushed back a little as she held something silky in her arms. It didn’t have the brilliance of Albus’s Cloak but it was still a very good one and she handed it to Rose with a little sigh, “Please don’t tell my sister that I let you borrow this. She really likes to be naked.”

Rose’s face was pasty as she thought of something to say, but there was no sound except for Scorpious asking Lavender where her sister was at this very moment and Albus coughing into his fist. Sue Corner was busy looking at her nails, “Uhm, how about you come with us?” she eventually asked uneasily.

“Why would I want to do that?” Lavender asked her blandly.

“You know, get out a bit…” Rose offered lamely.

Lavender thought about it. “No, I would rather read.” She looked at Albus, “I hope you don’t get into trouble, I would like to talk more, you know, at dinner.” She blushed, nodded at the others and stumbled back to her chair to read the rest of her Charms book.

Rose grinned teasingly at Albus but he was pointedly looking in the opposite direction. “Well?” she asked. “Should we go?”

“All right. Scorpious, get under here with me, Corner, you get with Rose,” Albus said as he held out the Cloak and flipped it over Scorpious when he came over. It covered them all the way down to their toes and his friend gasped in surprise.

The girls looked at each other and then Sue Corner said. “We should hold hands so that we don’t lose each other.”

“No thanks,” the boys said in unison.

Rose stomped her foot. “Really, are we adults here or what?”

“We’re not,” Albus clarified. “We’re only eleven.”

His cousin gave him a dry look and held out her hand. “Take it, Al, I don’t want to lose you guys, we’re going to have to keep really close.”

Albus took her hand reluctantly as Sue threw the Cloak over them and the two girls started going to the portrait hole. He saw Rose’s pale hand in the light and thought it very creepy for a moment, suspended apparently in thin air before they all stumbled out and started down the corridor.

“You know, you don’t have to hold my hand too Scorpious,” he snapped at some point.

“I wasn’t holding your hand!” Scorpious snapped.

“Then what were you doing?” Albus asked him dryly.

Scorpious snorted just as dryly. “I was trying to get your attention!”

“About what?” Albus asked him.

“What’s up with you and that Patil girl?” Scorpious asked with what Albus knew would be a cocky grin.

He groaned. “Nothing, she’s a friend, I guess.”

Scorpious laughed. “I bet she is. Honestly, as weird as she is, I’d rather it be her than that Creevey girl.”

“Why’d you put potatoes on her head anyway?” Sue Corner asked, her voice sounding oddly pleased.

“She’s an annoying hag,” Scorpious said and Albus heard Sue Corner laugh for the first time and it was slightly unnerving. “And everyone likes potatoes.”

Rose didn’t think so as they all navigated around a corner and down some stairs. “That was very rude of you, you know.” She said, huffing, “I saw her while she was leaving the hospital wing. She was crying so much!”

Scorpious merely laughed while Albus felt bad. “Who cares? Maybe she should keep her fat chipmunk mouth shut for a change?”

“You have no manners or class Malfoy!” Rose hissed back.

“Says the person that’s so determined to steal the Sorting Hat and _still_ wind up in Ravenclaw!” Scorpious snapped back at her, angry already.

Albus sighed, “Oh, give it a rest you two! Scorpious, you didn’t have to grip my fingers to get my attention to bug me about Lavender (Scorpious jeered, “Ooh, so its Lavender is it?”) and Rose, for Merlin’s sake, would you lay off for five seconds?”

Rose gripped his hand tightly and it hurt. “He started it.” She mumbled morosely and he groaned.

Scorpious spat. “I wasn’t trying to hold your hand!”

“Sure,” Albus drawled, rolling his eyes.

Scorpious snarled. “Get over it, Albus. You’re not even remotely my type.” He paused thoughtfully. “A little scrawny for my tastes,”

They chortled and Sue Corner snapped. “Would you two idiots shut up? _Gryffindors_ ,” she said with distaste.

Albus and Scorpious chuckled quietly to themselves as the four of them walked silently down corridors, upstairs and around many corners. Once, he thought he might have seen Peeves the Poltergeist wearing a pair of pink panties but it was surely his imagination because really, when was that ever going to happen?

Rose apparently knew where she was going and the four of them were soon standing in front of a pair of gargoyles that were blocking the entrance to somewhere.

“Okay, now this is going to be sort of hard, I had to ask a lot of favors to find out what the password to her office is.”

“Wait, whose office is this?” Scorpious asked.

Albus had a feeling and cold dread skipped down his spine. “Rose, are you completely mental? This is Headmistress McGonagall’s office! We’ll be turned inside out if we’re found here! What have you done?” he hissed angrily.

Rose ignored him and said to the gargoyle. “Pardon me, but is the Headmistress in?”

“No,” one of the uglier of the two, if that were possible, croaked.

Albus had a feeling that Rose was looking at him smugly and her hands, though warm, had gotten slightly clammy with sweat. “Rose, we shouldn’t be—”

Rose turned back to the gargoyle. “All right then, diligence,” she said confidently.

Albus prayed to every deity in the universe for this not to work out right but when the gargoyle’s stepped aside and they were permitted to ascend the stairs; he groaned and nearly kicked Rose in the back of the knee.

As they walked, he stumbled a bit and Scorpious cursed fluently behind him until they all stumbled into a beautiful circular room that had a presence of influence and warmth that made Albus feel even guiltier.

What looked like hundreds of portraits of old Headmasters and Headmistresses lined the walls and he was thankful that most of them appeared to be sleeping peacefully as they all gathered farther into the room. His eyes were so wide and so big that he wasn’t sure how they hadn’t popped out of his head and after a moment he saw a familiar old man wearing half –moon spectacles and twiddling with his wand.

He looked very, very old and Albus was wondering if he could see them because his head jerked up but then he realized, to his shock that he had been asleep all along.

Albus knew without a doubt that the man was Albus Dumbledore, the person his father had been close to and had named him after. It felt very wrong to be doing this now and he wondered just what kind of favors Rose had done for people to be able to sneak into here.

“Do you see it?” Scorpious whispered.

Rose shifted and then, slipped off the Cloak so that she could have a better look around. Albus wanted to really kick her then, “I know it has to be around here somewhere,” she murmured while walking behind a large, beautiful desk and peering up at a thousand shelves that were filled with books and interesting shaped objects. “I see it!” she cried excitedly.

Sue Corner had also taken off the Cloak. “Well? Can you get it?”

“Can’t reach!” Rose said as she hopped up and down, “do you guys know any spells?”

“Uhm, I don’t know,” Albus said as he took off the Cloak and Scorpious walked round the desk, and tried to reach it, being slightly taller than the rest of them.

Sue Corner frowned. “We don’t learn about Summoning Charms until fourth year!” she said annoyingly in a fierce whisper.

Albus sighed and walked over, placing his Cloak on the desk and making sure that Sue Corner didn’t stuff Lavender’s away in the corner. She did, however, put it in her robes, carefully folded. “I bet Lavender knows how to, she’s been reading that bloody Charms book all day.”

“Maybe we should have convinced her to come with us?” Rose asked him desperately.

Scorpious was irritated already. “I thought you Ravenclaw girls were supposed to be smart if we’re even considering talking about bringing Patil up here! Did you know she saw a spider the other day and nearly fainted? She’d get us all busted for sure!”

Albus frowned a little and defended. “But she would probably be a big help, so lay off!”

Sue Corner raised her eyebrows. “I wouldn’t think that she was your type Potter. Really, you could do so much better.”

Scorpious gave Albus an annoyed look and said to her. “Oh, like _you_? Albus, look out, the ice queen sounds interested.”

Albus groaned in irritation but he shuddered at the possibility of that happening, although Sue Corner sneered a little. “Uhm, could we get back on track please? Rose, you could think of something?”

“I don’t know any spells!” Rose snapped at him furiously, looking around for something that could help.

Albus stared around until his eyes landed on his blonde haired friend, who was glaring daggers at Sue Corner, who’d begun to look at her nails again. He had to be the moodiest person he knew so he asked as gently as he could, “Scorpious, do you think you could give Rose a lift?”

“ _Me_?” Scorpious asked hotly, disgusted. “I don’t want to feel things from your cousin that I don’t want to, Albus!”

Rose glared at him. “What century do you live in, Malfoy? Give me a budge up!” she commanded angrily, “I’ll sit on your shoulders.”

Scorpious sighed and bent down on one knee, looking up at her scathingly.

“Don’t get used to any blokes doing this for you often, Weasley,” he sneered and Albus smacked his forehead, the two of them were going to get them caught.

Rose’s cheeks flushed and she, on purpose or not, stepped onto Scorpious’s back extra hard. He groaned in frustration as she draped her legs over his shoulders and he hoisted her up.

They teetered dangerously for a second or two, Scorpious cursing and Rose flailing like a windmill before Albus and Sue had the bright idea to wander over and hold Scorpious’s legs.

Sue pressed her hands to Rose’s back to hoist her up more. “I’m not trying to touch your butt, Rose!” she hissed, “so stop squirming and we won’t have to wash ourselves in germicide later!”

Albus gave her a dry look. “Could you complain some other— Scorpious, what the heck, stay still?” he snapped.

Scorpious was starting to get cranky. “Weasley, grab the damn thing!”

Rose was now on his shoulders, teetering dangerously but flailed once or twice before grabbing the worn brim of the Sorting Hat and cried in a low voice. “I’ve got it!” it was just then that Albus lost his grip on Scorpious, Sue lost her hold on Rose and the four of them fell with a horrible, crashing thud onto the ground.

There was a lot of cursing, blushing and hands going places they’d rather not have wandered before they were able to push each other apart. “Ugh, Potter I think your hand touched my breast,”

Albus’s face was beet red but he shook his head, refusing to believe that something that disgusting had happened to him. His hand felt like it was crawling with bugs and he wiped it on his pants leg, “You wish,” he snapped. She didn’t say anything for a moment and he hoped that she hadn’t been thinking about it but it turned out that she was still trying to get off of him.

Her knee dug into his thigh for a moment and one of her arms was draped over his shoulders at an awkward angle. “Why are you so scrawny? You’re supposed to catch me!”

“Do I _look_ like I could carry you? Sorry, but I left my muscular, damsel in distress carrying body at home!” Albus hissed painfully as her elbow jammed into his jaw. Tears sprang in his eyes, “you did that on purpose!”

Whatever she had been about to say was drowned out as Rose and Scorpious fought furiously with each other to come apart. Their robes and legs were oddly connected and they looked like a wriggling mass of black slime, “Weasley, I swear to God I’ll jinx you within an inch of your life if you touch me one more time!”

“I’m not trying to touch you and why are you so skinny?” Rose complained hotly, “you’ve got no reason to be walking around so cocky you know! I could break you over my knee!”

Scorpious groaned in aggravation. “I wish you would then I wouldn’t have to feel your hands on my butt!”

Rose shrieked and Albus hissed for her to be quiet, “Like I would!”

“Oh, I bet you _long_ for it, Weasley. First and only chance,” Scorpious snapped furiously as they continued to struggle with each other.

Sue was now sprawled next to Albus and Rose had made some progress in disentangling herself, but she was still draped over Scorpious’s legs as she held the Sorting Hat, grinning wildly. “I hope you’re happy, Rose!” Albus snapped angrily while rubbing his sore jaw. Sue Corner was glaring at him triumphantly, obviously pleased at the sight of his pain and misery, “we could have woken up half the castle by now!”

Rose grinned and her eyes sparkled a little in the dark, “I am happy! I’m going to be a Gryffindor for sure now!”

“So put it on!” Albus cried anxiously.

“No, I wanted to—” Rose started.

“Weasley, get off me, you’re on a sensitive area!” Scorpious hissed from beneath her, his pale cheeks bright red for a change. “And no, I’m not happy about it so stop looking at me like that!”

Rose glared down at him, her freckles standing out in horror at where she was lying, “Albus help me up!” she cried but Albus was looking around at some of the portraits, they had woken up.

A sour looking man with hard black eyes suddenly swiveled around to glare at them all. “S-students? Out of bed? _Potter_!” he cried, probably thinking that Albus was his father. “And three more?!”

He quickly flitted out of his portrait, fussing the entire time.

Albus and the others cursed and cursed and cursed until they had the sense to grab their cloaks, Albus somehow winding up with Sue Corner and Rose with Scorpious. “Let’s get out of here!” he cried desperately.

Rose nodded, “Let’s go before someone comes in!”

Without hesitating for another second they bolted out of the Headmaster’s Office, down the stairs, clutching each other’s hands and nearly flying down the corridor, unsure where they were going, just needing to escape.

 

 


	7. A Trio

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Sorting Hat reveals where Rose, Scorpious and...someone else belongs but when things don't really turn out as planned, Albus and his moody blonde friend are baffled when they're spared by an unlikely companion.

“Where should we go?” Rose asked in a panicky voice as they all scrambled down a hallway, still gripping each other tightly.

Albus bit on his lower lip for a moment, thinking that he might have drawn a bit of blood before saying. “We could try going to Hagrid’s!”

“This late? He might send us straight back here!” Rose said, “He gets enough of that sort of thing from James and we’d never make it all the way out of the school anyway. There has to be somewhere else!”

Scorpious sighed wearily and Albus could practically see him rolling his eyes, “Let’s just go back to Gryffindor Tower and once things calm down, we’ll sneak back out, get rid of the Hat and be on our way to our separate dorms.”

Albus thought that was a decent idea, “But how are we going to get the Sorting Hat back to McGonagall?” he asked worriedly, “I don’t think she’s gonna keep the same password now that she knows someone was in there!”

Sue Corner finally pointed out something. “Have all of you forgotten that that portrait saw us? They already know who we are by now! We don’t stand a chance!” she cried. “We’re going to get caught either way!”

“I’d rather be comfy in the Gryffindor common room before then though, if you don’t mind!” Scorpious spat at her.

Albus was still with Scorpious on this one, “He’s right. Even if we do get caught, at least we’ll be cozy when we do.” Rose stiffened, “this was your idea!”

Rose’s voice sounded irritated. “This wasn’t supposed to even happen! If only we hadn’t fell!” she said as they all started back towards Gryffindor Tower, walking as slowly as they could.

“You could stand to lose a few pounds, Weasley,” Scorpious said with a sneer that Albus wished that he could see, just so he could smack it off of him.

Rose’s voice sounded very cross. “And maybe you could stand to get some muscle!” she snapped back.

Albus was about to tell them to shut up when they heard a noise from down the corridor and without having to be told they moved against the wall, the back of his head hitting the window and making him wince.

Filch and the ghost of some horrid cat were walking down the corridor, his lantern held high and a nasty look on his ancient face. “Where do you think those nasty little brats ran off to, my sweet? They won’t be too pleased when I find them, will they?” he asked the ghost cat.

It meowed and Albus wished that it had been alive so he could kick it. For a second, as they passed by, he thought it paused where they were and looked right at them but he couldn’t be sure. After a moment it passed away, its ghostly white tail flicking this way and that, “I think that thing saw us! Let’s hurry up and get to the Tower!” Albus hissed.

Sue Corner’s grip on his hand was tight, “What a horrible cat! I didn’t know that they could see under Cloaks!”

Albus wished that she wouldn’t hold his hand and didn’t get a chance to say anything because Rose started to lead them towards Gryffindor Tower again and they were soon on their way.

There was no one else around for a very long time but after a while they saw Professor Chang and Finch-Fletchley walking past, deep in conversation and they paused against a wall again, “I don’t know what to think. An actual vampire attacking Death Eater kids is something that makes me worry, Justin. It makes me ill,”

Professor Finch-Fletchley, who taught their History of Magic class nodded his head. “I know how you feel. But there hasn’t been a vampire in Britain in years, why would it suddenly come here after all this time? They were neutral during the War.”

“Yes, but things do change. And children are easy prey,” Professor Chang said with a shudder. “Do you think that it’s such a good idea to have this dueling club for the Death Eater kids? It might be teaching them something to use against the other students.”

Professor Finch-Fletchley sighed and looked at her with a weak smile, “I don’t think it will be a good idea to just have it for them either. I talked to Blaise and Smith earlier and they both agreed that the first and second years should take it while the other, older students are introduced to more advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts.”

Professor Chang nodded in agreement, “The younger students should at least know how to defend themselves until an adult or older student arrives. It won’t do much against a vampire though, but at least they’ll feel safer,”

“It might not be like when the Death Eaters got into Hogwarts, there’s no You-Know-Who anymore,” Professor Finch-Fletchley said, “and we reinforce the spells around the castle daily, there’s no way for anything evil to slip through here.”

Their Transfiguration teacher looked mildly pleased. “You’re right. But this dueling club doesn’t sound all that effective, younger students might not take to it very well.” She worried. “It’s too bad that we don’t have Harry to teach us, like last time when that beast Umbridge had taken over the school,” she said with a fond laugh.

“I heard that she was booted out of the Ministry,” Professor Finch-Fletchley said with a wide smile, “good for her. Things have been dull since then, when we were kids. I would give anything for a D.A. meeting now.”

Albus had had no idea they’d been part of it too! He was rather excited about it, he had only met a handful of the members apparently, “I know what you mean. Luna checks her coin very often,” Professor Chang said with a laugh, “you know how she gets, after what happened a few years ago, she’s the first to fight.”

“Yes, and the first to look for Crumple Horned Snorcklacks as well, or whatever they were called. Do you remember how she talked about fighting Bellatrix Lestrange? She makes it sound so pleasant!” Professor Finch-Fletchley said, “I was up at the Astronomy Tower so I missed it but it sounded horrific!”

Albus wanted to know more but they had already walked away down the hall, still deep in conversation about lost times. “Your dad is way cool,” Scorpious told him as they all started walking again, “we should start our own club, just like he did.”

“You think?” Albus asked excitedly.

Rose interrupted, “We’re almost there. I didn’t know that Aunt Luna was such a good fighter, she doesn’t seem like it, you know?”

Albus nodded, “She really doesn’t. But you can never tell with her, can you?” he asked with a grin, “I can’t wait to see her at Christmas.”

“Oh, you’re just hoping that she’ll buy you something, she spoils you all rotten. Lily especially,” Rose said sourly.

Albus rolled his eyes and reminded, “Mum named her Lily _Luna_ , Rose! And she doesn’t have any daughters of her own so of course she would spoil her more than the rest of us.” He said annoyingly, “you make it sound like you never get anything!”

Rose sounded very annoyed and Scorpious made a gagging noise that Albus had to fight hard not to laugh at. “I don’t get nearly as much as Lily does!”

Albus ticked off a few things, “What about that set of pearl earrings that Aunt Fleur bought you? Or that book about magical beasts that you loved so much from Aunt Luna?” he pointed out shrewdly.

“Shut up, Albus!” Rose cried.

He ignored her and continued on in a louder whisper. “Or that new set of robes that Aunt Audrey and Angie pitched in to buy you? I swear, Rose—”

“Oh, stop rubbing it in,” Rose snapped.

Scorpious sounded very envious. “Your family sounds great, wish I could come over for Christmas.”

“Who says you can’t?” Albus asked him annoyingly.

“Oh, I don’t know. Some girl with bushy red hair?” Scorpious asked dryly.

Rose glowered over at him. “You’re not coming anywhere near my house and don’t you dare invite him, Albus! Uncle Harry isn’t going to be happy about having him anywhere near you if I can help it!”

“Oh, get a life, Rose!” Albus snapped annoyingly. “If I want him to come over, he will and it’s none of your business!”

Sue Corner finally said, from behind him. “What’s the password?” Albus gasped and was surprised to see that they were at the Fat Lady already.

Albus looked up at her dozing, peaceful face and said. “Oi, listen up!” and watched her twitch with annoyance, “hey, listen to me!”

Scorpious’s foot came out from under the Cloak and kicked the portrait as hard as he could and earned a nasty curse for the effort from the Fat Lady. She jerked, looking around, “Who’s there?” she asked angrily.

“Ignorance!” Albus cried.

The Fat Lady hissed, “How dare you wake me up, do you have any idea what time it is right now? I could have you in detention all year for this!” she snapped while opening to admit them in.

Once again, the common room was practically deserted and Albus blew out a sigh of relief as he took off the Cloak and watched Sue Corner wander over to the fireplace and take out her wand. After a moment, she said, “Incendio,” and it burst into raucous, beautiful flames, “there, now it’ll be a bit warmer.”

“You know that spell but nothing that could have helped us get the bloody Hat from the shelf?” Scorpious mocked as he shoved the Cloak off and got away from Rose as fast as he could.

Albus didn’t bother listening to them argue and was about to stretch and head towards a chair to sit in when he spotted Lavender Patil slumped in one already. Her head was buried in her Charms book and he wondered, with an oddly sweet pang if she had waited up for them to come back, “She must have been here all night.” He said with a grin.

Scorpious was taking out a blanket, yawning loudly, “Throw this on her, she looks blue,” he said and Albus took it from him and draped it over her shoulders. “Now let’s get this over with, I’m dead tired.”

Albus was trying to rearrange Lavender’s neck so she wouldn’t wake up with a crook but decided to give up, she was too far gone. Walking back to them, he sat on one of the couches beside Rose, Sue Corner across from them in a chair with Scorpious, both of them looking disgusted with the other, “Okay, I’ll go first!” Rose said happily while taking out the Hat from the depths of her robes.

Albus sighed and watched Sue taking out a parchment and quill from out of nowhere. “It’s not like we’d lie about it or anything,” he pointed out wearily.

“Oh, I don’t think you would, Potter.” Sue said while looking at Scorpious scathingly, “but your friend might.”

Scorpious ignored her and watched as Rose placed the Hat on her bushy red hair, his face oddly tight. After a moment or two, her gloating smile froze, “Ravenclaw!” the Hat cried again and Albus thought it sounded sort of irritated and he had a crazy thought that it might actually sleep and had things to do.

Scorpious was smirking happily. “Brains all the way, Weasley,”

Rose glared at him hotly and she tore the Hat off and cried, “It has to be wrong!”

“Then try it on again!” Sue Corner said with a confused frown.

Albus saw Rose nod then groaned in aggravation as he watched her try the Sorting Hat on three more times, and each time, despite her efforts to look fierce, it declared her a Ravenclaw.

When it cried the House again, for the sixth time, his cousin slumped and took it off her head with a glum, sad expression on her face. “It still says that I’m more suited for Ravenclaw!”

Albus had a horrible feeling that she might cry or something and moved away from her but it was already too late. Rose was crying into his shoulder and he really had nothing to say to comfort her, “Aw, come on, lighten up, Rosie, it’s not that big of a deal. You’re not giving your House a chance, all you need to do is make new friends, get out a little more—”

“And stop putting your nose in other people’s business,” Scorpious muttered as he snatched the Sorting Hat from her shaking fingers and placed it on his lap.

Sue Corner gave him a warning look but then went back to scratching something with her quill, “So, the terms of the bet say that if Malfoy really belongs in Gryffindor, you owe him whatever he wants, at any time, Rose.”

Rose looked up from Albus’s weak shoulder and cried. “Oh, like I could forget!” she said scathingly, “but the Hat doesn’t make more mistakes, at least, not with someone with a family history—”

Scorpious looked at Rose with a darkly, foreboding look and Albus wondered if it was merely his imagination but his eyes looked red in the light. A moment later they were their normal, stormy grey and he said coldly, “Would you stop it? You haven’t heard me insult your family _once_.”

Rose opened her mouth to say that he had, at least once or twice but Albus knew that Scorpious hadn’t, if anything, he had given their family nothing but glowing compliments, “…Well.” She said tightly when she couldn’t think of anything to say, “Are you going to put it on or not?”

Sue Corner licked the tip of her quill, her dark eyes focused and sure and Albus wondered why this mattered so much to her anyway. She was probably like Rose and just hated Scorpious for what his father had been, “Okay. I’m ready.”

Albus watched his friend place the Hat on his blonde head and there was a tense, dark silence that was only broken by Lavender Patil’s snoring. After a moment, the Hat cried once again, “Gryffindor!” and Rose, so stunned and furious, demanded that he put it on three more times before she finally bowed her head and clenched her fists.

“So, Weasley,” Scorpious drawled lazily as a relieved expression broke out over his pale, pointed face. “You owe me.”

Albus gave him a weary look and took the Hat from him and felt his fingers shaking a little bit. What if the Hat did tell him that he was a Slytherin? What if he was thrust back into a whole new House, away from Scorpious and under the mercy of people like Goyle, who hated his guts?

Swallowing, he placed the Hat on his head just as the portrait hole burst open and they all jumped up, expecting a monster but were even more horrified when they saw that it was Headmistress McGonagall herself. “I have _never_ been more furious!” she screamed as she stormed into the room, Zabini behind her, looking quite demented. “You four, you four have stolen the Sorting Hat, been out after hours and have the audacity to be comfortable while you wait for your punishment?”

Scorpious opened his mouth but Albus shot him a look and held out the Hat to the furious older woman as some kind of peace offering. “We’re sorry, we just weren’t sure if we were put in the right House.”

The older woman looked as if she might wring their necks, or worse, expel them and he swallowed hard. “That is not an excuse for misbehavior! The Sorting Hat doesn’t make mistakes, once you’re in your House, you’re in it for the rest of your years at Hogwarts!” she ran a hand over her face. “I’m very disappointed with you all, especially with you, Ms. Weasley and Ms. Corner, you two, I thought had more sense.”

Albus didn’t really appreciate that she had just sort of said that he and Scorpious were born to be reckless. “It was her idea,” Scorpious muttered, looking down at his feet and frowning.

“Whether it was her idea or not doesn’t matter! We have been in a frenzy looking for you all! Do you not understand how dangerous these times are? Especially for you Mr. Malfoy?” McGonagall snapped as she advanced on him. “Your father has written me, worried out of his mind, just like your poor mother who is constantly sending owls to my office!”

Scorpious paled and Albus wasn’t sure what was making him look so ill. “I didn’t know that.” He muttered, “Dad didn’t even tell me what was going on with the other kids that were murdered,”

McGonagall inhaled raggedly to catch her breathing, “And why would he? He wants your first year to be fun, enjoyable but you obviously don’t want that! Detention for a week with Zabini for fighting. And now this!”

“I’m sorry,” Scorpious muttered and Albus was sure that he was apologizing more to her than to his father.

The matron frowned deeply at him and then turned her beady black eyes on Albus. “And you, Mr. Potter, I thought that you were more focused and determined! To throw away a chance to prove yourself over something as silly as where you really belong in Hogwarts? Every student, when the Second War came to Hogwarts fought together, what House they were in hardly mattered.”

“But the Slytherin kids ran!” Scorpious reminded hotly.

Zabini finally spoke and his voice slithered and coiled around the room like smoke, making Albus’s skin break out in a cold sweat. “Not all of us ran and hid. Some of us came back and fought for the right side,”

Scorpious flushed angrily. “You never told me that!”

“You were too busy thinking that I was going to eat you, Mr. Malfoy and I’ve never appreciated how cowardly your father was back then, its why we don’t keep in touch as often as I’d like.” Zabini muttered coldly.

Albus saw shame pass over his friend’s face and said hastily to the dark, imposing man before them. “We were just worried! Everyone’s giving us both a hard time and we thought that the Hat had gotten it wrong!”

“So you steal it?” McGonagall asked sharply. She placed her thumb and forefinger to the bridge of her nose and squeezed, “I’m disappointed in each and every one of you.”

Albus saw Rose shaking and tears brimming in her wide, brown eyes. Even Sue Corner looked a little frightened and he asked the dreaded question, “Are you going to expel us?”

McGonagall frowned deeply. “After your own father flew a car into the Whomping Willow his second year, helped Sirius Black escape Dementors his third year and created an illegal club in his fifth? What you’ve done _hardly_ deserves an expulsion from this school compared to what he did at your age.”

Scorpious was looking rather pleased while Albus wondered if he would ever get noticed for anything that his father hadn’t done better than him.

“Don’t look so glum, Mr. Potter, you will be punished, I assure you.” McGonagall said dryly, her eyes rolling just a bit in annoyance. “I won’t expel you all but I will take fifty points each from your House and you will be serving quite a few detentions to make up for this little mishap.” She said sternly and Albus nearly fainted with relief.

“Fifty?” Scorpious asked angrily, “but we’ve lost so many points already!”

Zabini gave him an icy glare. “You should have thought of that before you went around stealing, Mr. Malfoy and Ms. Weasley, crying won’t save you!” he shouted when Rose started to cry really loudly, “now, whose idea was this really?”

Albus was about to take the fall for Rose when they heard a sleepy, drained voice mumble, “Mine, sir.” And he looked around and saw that Lavender Patil was sitting up and looking at them all, rubbing her eyes, “it was my idea.”

“I hardly believe it was, Ms. Patil,” Zabini drawled doubtfully.

Lavender wiped at her eyes and said with conviction. “I was the one that wanted them to get it for me but I fell asleep waiting for them. Everyone says that I’m really cowardly and don’t belong in this House so I thought that maybe they were right and that I really belonged in Ravenclaw or something,”

Albus could hardly believe his ears.

McGonagall gave Lavender a pitying look but it was slightly kind compared to the look that she had been giving Albus and the others. “Well, Ms. Patil, I do value your bravery to admit your faults now. I’m afraid that you’ll have to be punished more so than the other four here, do you understand that?”

“I understand, Ma’am.” Lavender answered, clutching her Charm book.

Zabini still looked rather doubtful and Albus had a feeling he knew that she was lying for them all. “Are you even prepared to handle the detentions that you’ll be receiving?”

Lavender nodded firmly and bit on her lower lip. “I’ll do whatever it takes. If you want, take a hundred points from me and give Albus and Scorpious back thirty. This was my fault,” she mumbled and Albus was amazed as a little tear rolled dramatically down her round cheek.

McGonagall pursed her lips a little at this bargaining but said with a clip to her voice, “I’ll take ten from Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy and seventy from you, Ms. Patil.” She looked around at them all and Albus felt his spine tingling with fear, “now that that’s settled, all of you are to go to bed immediately.”

“When are we going to serve our detentions?” Albus asked her worriedly.

McGonagall was taking the Sorting Hat from him and said with a quirked eyebrow that made him think that she really wanted to spank his behind. “You will be informed when it’s arranged, Mr. Potter.”

His eyes glanced at Zabini fearfully, “Okay,”

The two teachers glared down at them one more time before ushering Rose and Sue Corner out of the Common Room. Rose gave Lavender a weak smile but her friend didn’t even look at her, which made Albus really want to kick her in the back of the knee as the four of them left.

“Why did you do that?” Scorpious asked Lavender the moment they were sure McGonagall and Zabini weren’t coming back.

She slipped out of the armchair and walked over to the two of them with a little smirk on her face that made her look very cunning and secretive. Albus wasn’t really sure if he liked it or not, “Aren’t you going to say thank you?” she asked shyly.

Scorpious grunted irritably, “Thanks, I guess.”

Albus said, “You didn’t have to do that you know. I was gonna take the fall for Rose, you didn’t need to get yourself thrown into a detention with us!”

Lavender shrugged her shoulders and looked at him from the corner of her eye, her cheeks turning very pink. “Well, it was sort of my fault. I mean, I did give Rose my Cloak and you wouldn’t have made it to Headmistress McGonagall’s office without it so it wasn’t really a lie.”

“It sort of is a lie, though.” Scorpious said dryly.

Albus glared at him. “Would you—”

Lavender was smiling at Scorpious with a curiously fond look on her face and Albus wondered how often she’d been watching them. She didn’t seem to find him annoying at all, “He does sort of have a point. I didn’t want you all to get into too much trouble.”

“Thanks a bunch,” Scorpious said happily, his mood shifting like the wind.

“But, why?” Albus asked her, ignoring him.

Lavender was staring at him. “Why, what?”

“Why did you lie, you didn’t want to steal the Hat,” Albus reminded her.

“Not really, you told me that I just needed to grow into myself so I’m willing to try. I sort of owe you for cheering me up so don’t worry,” Lavender said with a vague smile as her cheeks turned redder. “If we’re gonna be in detention together, then that means that I g-get to talk to you more.”

Scorpious made a noise in his throat that sounded suspiciously like a girlish giggle and Albus nearly kicked him as hard as he could in the stomach. “You’re a good friend, Lavender.” He said eventually, because this was surprisingly true.

She blinked owlishly at him and he was reminded severely of his Aunt Luna, but even she didn’t blush so much or make it seem as if he had just offered her a bowl of vomit to eat. Lavender apparently didn’t get any compliments or if what she had said was true, not many friends either and that made him feel sorry for her a bit. But he couldn’t really talk; his only friend really was Scorpious.

If they were going to keep losing their House points, he would be virtually alone because no one was going to want to hang around a walking jinx except for Scorpious, who had enough on his plate to worry about. Albus wasn’t really sure why Lavender had done it but it meant a lot, people made fun of her for being scared of her own shadow but what she had lied about took a lot of guts. “I can be your friend?” she asked him eventually in a quiet voice, “You actually want _me_ to be your friend, Albus?”

Scorpious was grinning wildly. “Of course he does!”

Albus sent him a dry look. “Would you shut up for five seconds?”

Lavender smiled and gazed at the two of them very sweetly, as if they were sharing a deep, dark secret and bound for life.

Albus supposed that they were, in their own way but she didn’t seem upset or bothered by their eventual detention, isolation or humiliation as much as Rose or himself did. “So you do want me to be your friend? You’re not joking around with me are you?” she asked warily.

“No,” Albus said, frowning, “why would I?”

Scorpious gave him a grin and then wrapped his arms around Lavender’s shoulders and said loudly and dramatically before Albus could even open his mouth to tell him to leave her alone. “We’re _all_ friends here, all right? You saved our skins so we owe you big time.”

“You want to be my friend too?” Lavender asked him in surprise and Albus was very happy to see that she didn’t recoil and apparently he was too because he didn’t take his arm from around her shoulders.

Albus was starting to like her more and more. “I sure am, _Lavender_ ,” Scorpious said with a smirk, “pretty cool, huh?”

She nodded and Albus, shrugging, walked over and wrapped his arm around her other shoulder. That simple act and the fact that tonight had gone from being terrible to mildly unpleasant thanks to her, caused him to realize that he and Scorpious were now a trio and he couldn’t have wished for a better new friend than shy, odd little Lavender Patil.

 

 


	8. The Misfit Oddities

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Albus, Scorpious and Lavender Patil have no luck and while they realize this, they can't help but notice something rather nice about it. On the other hand, when they find out more about the Death Eater murders, catch Zabin doing something odd and learn a bit more about each other, their friendship will be tested.

Albus felt the last remains of his soul slipping from his body as he inhaled the rotten rat entrails that he was pickling. It was a chilly Thursday evening and he found himself gagging weakly as the slimy guts slipped through his fingers, his dragon hide gloves coated in green, sticky potion, “Merlin, kill me now.” Scorpious whispered beside him and when the Almighty Merlin did nothing, even when he begged, he cursed under his breath.

Luckily for them, Professor Zabini was looking idly through his Evening Prophet but that didn’t make Albus feel any better. They had been in various horrible places this past week for beating up Smith and he could only imagine what the monster was going to do to them for stealing the Sorting Hat, “Just be thankful that it’s almost over.” Albus muttered beside him.

Scorpious glared at him as if it was his fault but his moody blonde friend was a lot crankier than usual. After they had stolen the Sorting Hat, they’d gotten the most vicious Howlers from their parents, he, Albus and Rose getting an extra for beating up that prat Smith, “He’ll come up with something else for us to do.”

Albus knew that he was right but he was too busy pickling the entrails in a large, ancient jar. It was already filled to the brim with rat heads and legs and it made him never want to look at the helpless creatures again, “Like kick each other.”

“Or look at your cousin for another half hour.” Scorpious muttered and Albus rolled his eyes. Throughout the entire detentions, he and Rose had been scrapping with one another to the point where he’d even gotten a split lip from a hex that his cousin had sent to his friend.

Rose was currently sniffling over her own entrails, her bushy red hair tied back and her lips set in a grimace. “Would you stop picking on her so much? We’re supposed to just get through this detention!” Albus hissed.

Scorpious grumbled.

Though all of them had gotten a Howler, Scorpious had gotten one that still haunted him a little. Instead of a screaming banshee of a mother, he had merely gotten a silent, icy warning, “YOU HAVE SHAMED THE MALFOY NAME. ON THE HOLIDAY, EXPECT A MOST UNPLEASANT PUNISHMENT…” and Albus had known that it hadn’t been his father.

The voice had sounded gravely and croaked and he’d thought of a troll or some kind or a man-eating beast from hell. Albus knew that his friend was really nervous about going back home, he himself was scared that he would be beaten to a pulp and that made him want to crawl into a hole, “If I see you talking again Potter Jr. and Mr. Malfoy, I will personally keep you here until morning.” Zabini suddenly said, his voice slithering around them like poison.

It was bad enough that he made fun of them in Potions for failed attempts and the fact that they’d practically lost nearly all of their House any points or pride. Sally Creevey had gone so far as to actually punch Albus the other day before Scorpious had hexed her and made her hair turn into worms, “Yes sir,” they both grumbled sourly.

Zabini was glaring at them, his dark eyes haunting before he bent and continued to read in the newspaper. Albus wondered if he were checking on the latest death and he glanced at Scorpious and didn’t want to talk about the fact that Rachel Travers had been found dead outside of her home…her throat cut and her blood gone.

It was causing some panic and people were still blaming his father even though he had been cleared along with other Death Eater parents and Albus was growing rather concerned now.

What kind of vampire was doing this? And why just Death Eater kids? He hadn’t had time to go to the library or bother Hagrid or Professor Longbottom because he was so steeped in his own misery and shame. He and Scorpious could barely walk out of their dorm without being beaten up and because James and Mason protected them on occasion, Albus was growing rather eager to leave Hogwarts.

With the entire school hating them and the fact that he failed at almost everything he did, Albus Severus Potter was very close to throwing in the towel and living as a nomadic loser. Scorpious would come with him of course and they could live off of radishes and creek water, “What do you think he’ll make us do for stealing the Hat?”

Albus didn’t want to think about it but he frowned a little as he glanced up at his cousin, her tears still falling down her cheeks. She hadn’t apologized or anything and because she and that annoying Sue Corner were being bullied, he hardly saw her in the corridor anymore, “I don’t think I want to know.” He whispered back.

Scorpious shuddered a little but after a while they worked diligently together, his friend casting mean looks at Rose every so often before Zabini told them, quite nastily to get out of his sight for the night. They would be back tomorrow night of course and after cleaning up and having Rose cleaning under Albus’s nails for him, the three of them filed out of the dungeon and started for their common rooms.

“I don’t think I even need to bathe. He’ll have us doing something equally as disgusting tomorrow,” Albus said now.

Scorpious nodded and glared at Rose. “How’s it feel, Weasley? If it hadn’t have been for you, we wouldn’t be in this mess!”

Rose had been ahead of them and turned around swiftly. Albus had dried her face off for her so there were no tears but all this girl emotion was frightening regardless, “Oh, shut up you prat! And no one told you to beat up Smith for me!”

Scorpious sneered. “Who says I was doing it for you? _Albus_ is my friend, not you, Weasley.” He snapped and Albus was surprised by this because he hadn’t really acknowledged that they were indeed, friends. He usually just said they talked a lot but he must have been pretty mad, “jealous?”

“Of your love affair? Not likely.” Rose said meanly and Albus rolled his eyes.

Albus said. “Well, Scorpious is blonde and I like my men blonde and moody.” Scorpious roared with laughter and Rose snorted before turning around and stomping ahead of them.

As she rounded a corner, she squealed and they rushed up to see her helping Lavender Patil up. Scorpious frowned as the two girls apologized to each other, checking for wounds, “Oh, she’ll live! Merlin!”

Rose and Lavender Patil were not at all friends but Albus supposed his cousin had to thank her eventually for what she had done. “Shut up!” she snarled.

Lavender was smoothing out her robes and Albus watched as she smiled at Scorpious disarmingly. It made him blush for some reason, he wasn’t quite sure what to make out of her, “Hello, boys.”

Albus liked Lavender. Not like that of course but while she was rather odd, he liked her anyway and it was nice having someone else to hang out with when Scorpious was getting on his nerves, “Did you wait up for us again?”

Lavender had been hanging out with them ever since the night she’d practically spared their lives. She waited for the two of them in the mornings and they walked to breakfast together and sometimes she did their homework for them too and Albus wasn’t sure what it was but she could handle Scorpious better than anyone he knew so far. “I was a bit late. I got caught up reading my sister’s Charms book that she loaned me.”

Scorpious sneered as he walked up, shoving Rose out of the way smoothly and pinching her face in his hands. It was his customary greeting, Albus noted because he hated that she couldn’t look either of them in the eye without spluttering, “Why. Are. You. Such. A. Nerd?” he demanded out of her now, smashing her face.

Lavender flailed and looked as if she might cry but Rose said to Albus now, her tone crisp. “I’m going to head back up to Ravenclaw Tower.”

“Does your mean friend still have my Cloak?” Lavender asked Rose distractedly while Albus smacked Scorpious away from her.

Rose gasped. “Sue isn’t mean!”

Albus didn’t want to remind her that her nasty friend had tripped him down the stairs the other day. She seemed to think that he had touched her breast on purpose or something and if their older cousin Roxanne Weasley hadn’t have caught him (She’d even carried him over her shoulder until they were on the last step. It was a moment he would like to forget) he probably would have broken something. “Sure, Rose. She’s spectacular.”

Scorpious was pinching Lavender’s dark cheeks as he snapped. “She’s a hag! Just like that Creevey girl.”

“Sally just talks a lot!” Lavender whined.

Albus smacked Scorpious away again as Rose said. “I can get your Cloak for you if you want, Patil.”

“Why not just take a trip up there ourselves? Corner might burn it on purpose.” Scorpious said while Lavender looked at him warily. He grinned evilly but caught the look on Albus’s face and halted immediately on whatever he had been about to do, “go on, Weasley. Lead the way.”

Rose looked really annoyed before she started to turn down the corridor in the opposite direction, the three of them following her. Albus had never been to the Ravenclaw Tower before but their older cousin Dom-Dom (Dominique Weasley) had told them that it was quite a walk when he’d talked to her briefly in the corridor (After she’d kissed his face and patted Scorpious absently on the head and pecked Lavender on the cheek).

“How was your detention?” Lavender asked now.

Scorpious angled his head at her. “When do _your_ detentions start?”

Because she had lied for them all and had said that the idea had been hers alone, Lavender was being punished more than them. “Oh, it started earlier this morning. I got an owl in my dorm to help Mr. Hagrid at his hut; he showed me two-headed piranhas!”

Albus hadn’t been to see him but he now wondered if that weren’t such a bad thing. “He didn’t ask you to pet them did he?” he cried.

Lavender shook her head and pushed a lock of her black hair behind her ear and Scorpious grumbled at her. She idly patted him on the arm and he went to smirking to himself, which annoyed Albus for whatever reason, “It was fun, actually. We talked for a long time and then he gave me one of the piranhas as a pet! I’ll show you when we get back to Gryffindor Tower—I’m thinking of putting Samantha Jordan’s cat in the bowl.”

Albus and Scorpious roared with laughter.

Rose was leading them up many flights of stairs now and they panted and wheezed for a long time before they were walking down a lit corridor. Peeves darted by at some point with a pair of blue panties on his head (That Albus had made yesterday in Transfiguration) and tossed trash at them, “Misfit Oddities and little Miss Sniffly Weasley!” he jeered.

Lavender shot a jinx at his retreating figure and Albus wasn’t sure what it did but he cursed nastily over his shoulder at her. “That thing doesn’t have any respect for anyone!” she said.

Scorpious was staring at her in amazement as Rose said heatedly. “Well, he likes Roxanne a lot. I never see him bullying _her_.” She muttered sourly.

“That’s cause her last name’s Weasley and Uncle George is her dad. He liked him and Uncle Fred remember?” Albus reminded and his cousin shrugged a bit, looking sour.

He supposed having a ghost make fun of you for being a cry-baby was a bit annoying. Scorpious stabbed Albus in the arm with his wand to get his attention, “You mean that black girl, right?”

Albus frowned. “My Aunt Angie is black.” He explained while Lavender looked rather curious about his family, having only met a handful.

Scorpious waved that away. “I don’t care about that! But how is it that someone that gorgeous is related to _Weasley_?” he jerked his thumb at Rose, who spluttered indignantly.

Albus asked. “You think my cousin is pretty?”

Rose snarled. “ _You’re_ not the most handsome creature on the planet Malfoy!”

Lavender said. “I think you’re pretty, Weasley.”

Scorpious stuck out his tongue at Rose even as she smiled at Lavender happily before marching down the corridor. There was a large white door at the very end as Albus heard his blonde friend say, “I think all of your cousins I’ve met so far are pretty! Merlin, it’s not fair at all!”

“What’s not fair?” Albus laughed. He was used to his Aunt Fleur and her daughters being inhumanly pretty and the effect wore off after a while and he had never really noticed if his Aunt Angie, Hermione or Aunt Audrey were pretty (The last had a lot of tattoos so he was almost always distracted).

Scorpious kicked at the ground. “That you’re surrounded by beautiful women while I’m left looking at my mum and sister!” he cried. Albus laughed, “If your cousin Roxanne stops dating my brother, tell her to marry me.”

Lavender was startled. “ _You_ have a brother?”

Albus was surprised by this but Rose now said. “Shush, I’m trying to hear the riddle!” she cried.

Jerking towards the door, Albus saw that they were standing in front of an eagle knocker. It was very pretty but he jumped (Lavender grabbed his arm) as the beak opened and asked in a pretty, sing-song way, “What do men abuse and women lose?”

Rose was frowning thoughtfully. “Common sense?”

The knocker shook its head. “Try again.”

Scorpious snorted. “Money?”

Another shake of its head and Albus tried. “Time?”

When the knocker shook its head again, Lavender sighed and said bluntly. “The answer is love.” They all turned to stare at her and to their surprise, when Rose pushed at the door, it opened instantly.

They all stepped inside and Albus saw that the Ravenclaw common room was elegant, bright and had a snooty quality to it that made him feel dirty. Statues of Rowena Ravenclaw littered corners while bookshelves rested against the walls and there was a large, monstrous window that showed the mountains outside. It was very pretty actually but Albus liked the comfort of his own common room instead, “Uh, hello,” he said stupidly to some of the students loitering around.

Most of them were sitting in Victorian furniture or at study tables but at the sight of Albus, Scorpious and Lavender, who was looking bored, they frowned. Rumors about the three of them had spread like dragon fire and he hoped that they didn’t beat them up; Goyle had already hinted that he would gang up on them soon, “What are _they_ doing here?” Sue Corner asked sharply as she got up from a desk, walking up.

Rose said hello and the girl smiled at her, all friendliness but Albus raised his upper lip at her. Scorpious glared and Lavender just swayed in place, “Patil wanted to get her Cloak.”

Sue pushed a lock of her black hair behind her ear and appraised Lavender as if she found her highly lacking. Out of the two of them, she was obviously a lot prettier but Albus wanted to kick her in the face, “Thanks for that, Patil.”

“I was only doing it for Albus and Scorpious.” Lavender said their blonde friend’s name absently and Albus had a feeling that she was picking on him. Scorpious frowned at her and pinched her nose, “could I have my Cloak please?”

“Sure, take a seat but try not to turn anything into a pair of panties, Potter.” Sue Corner jeered before walking off. Rose gave them a weak smile as the three of them glared after her.

“Take a seat and I’ll show you some new sketches that I made, Albus.” Rose said and because Albus actually liked her art, no matter if he thought her hand would fall off, he nodded. The four of them skirted around some seventh years and went to sit at a study table.

Scorpious was looking uncomfortable but Lavender yawned a bit while Albus wondered if the desk were made out of white marble. “ _You_ have talent?” he heard his moody friend ask.

Rose scowled at him before taking out a sketch book from her robes and placing it on the table. “I do, Malfoy. Are you always so charming?”

“Always,” Scorpious spat arrogantly.

Lavender looked bored and Albus asked. “Have you been up here before?” and she nodded. “Oh…your older sister is a Ravenclaw right?” she nodded.

Rose asked curiously. “What’s her name?”

“Nora Patil.” Lavender said shortly before looking around and pointing across the massive common room. They looked and Albus saw a pretty girl with long wavy hair chatting with a group of guys and a few girls, looking elegant and everything his weird little friend was not, “yeah, there she is. Behold her sheer majesty.”

Scorpious roared with laughter. “You’re really sarcastic.”

Lavender turned away. “It happens when you get five sisters.”

Albus stopped looking at Nora Patil, who hadn’t even noticed that her sister was here and asked in surprise. “Five?!”

Rose was looking rather startled. “Wow, five sisters, Patil? That must be amazing!” she only had her younger brother to play with at home and he hated having his hair brushed, Albus noted.

Lavender didn’t look as if it was any fun and she picked at a piece of lint on Scorpious’s robe sleeve to distract herself. “It’s not, really. I get all their old things and I hate it.”

Albus was really surprised by this and he stared at her robes carefully and saw that they were a bit faded. “So one of your sisters was a Gryffindor?”

“My sister Angelina,” Lavender said absently.

Rose smiled. “That’s our aunt’s name!”

Lavender blinked owlishly. “It is…isn’t it?” she asked dreamily before recalling with a small gasp that made Scorpious pull at her ear, since he’d jumped, “my mum said that some lady named Angelina helped her at the War. I never really thought about it before now.”

Albus was very surprised and proud of this fact because his family was very brave indeed. But his Aunt Angie never talked about it really and Rose asked, “So where are your other sisters?”

“Eloise and Jada are twins and they’re in Egypt, they’re curse breakers. Miranda is the oldest and she owns some fancy boutique and is rarely ever home, thank God and Angelina ran off from home with some bloke from Pudmore United and we don’t see her much.” Lavender said in a bored, uncomfortable rush.

Scorpious was amazed and stared at her for a moment before leaning back to stare at Nora Patil. “You two don’t look much alike, you know.” Albus kicked him under the table and he snapped under his breath, “They don’t!”

Lavender hadn’t heard. “Nora is probably going to be Head Girl next year and after she graduates it’ll just be me.” She sounded relieved, “not that anyone would notice.”

There was an awkward silence after that before Rose asked kindly. “Would you like to look at some of my sketches?” and Lavender was instantly distracted as his cousin opened her sketchbook.

Albus knew that while Aunt Hermione was excellent at just about everything, Rose was very good at drawing. He leaned forward with a reluctant Scorpious to see charcoal drawings of Hogwarts, the Black Lake and the mountains in the distance…and quite a few of various students.

There was one of Sue Corner (Scorpious gagged), James and Mason looking almost eerily identical and a few of Albus himself, “These are really good, Rose!” he cried.

His cousin’s cheeks turned pink. “Thank you Albus!”

Scorpious sneered. “I suppose they’re okay.”

Lavender shot him a look. “You’re just saying that because there’s not one of you in here.” Scorpious turned in his seat and smashed her face in his hands.

While the two of them argued with one another, Albus too tired to really save Lavender this time, he continued to look through Rose’s sketches. After a while, he jumped as Zabini’s face dominated a piece of parchment, “Merlin, it looks just like him!”

Rose had been watching Scorpious and Lavender (Who was sniffling by this point with the other boy trying to soothe her in his own weird way) but said to Albus. “It does, doesn’t it? I’m actually pretty proud of it!”

Albus was actually really disturbed because he had never seen this expression on the man’s face before. Zabini apparently had captured Rose’s attention some other time because he had never seen his dark eyes…sad before and it unnerved him, “Why was he looking like this?”

“Oh, I don’t know.” Rose said with a shrug. “He was just standing around and he looked really sad so I wanted to sketch it. He’s rather mean, isn’t he?”

Sue Corner came up just then, “You would be too if everyone thought that you were a vampire. Here’s your Cloak, Patil,” she pulled something from her robes and handed Lavender the Cloak back and the girl clutched it to her chest before stuffing it into her robes.

“Thanks,” she muttered to Sue Corner.

The other girl looked rather annoyed but flicked her eyes at her dismissively and Albus demanded. “What were you talking about anyway when you blessed us with your presence?”

Rose shot him a worried look. “Albus…”

Apparently that hadn’t bothered Sue Corner. She had something tucked under her arm and Albus saw that it was a moldy old book of some kind, “I was just looking through this book and I thought Malfoy would like to know that he isn’t going to be eaten after all.”

There was a pause as Scorpious patted Lavender on the cheek and turned to stare at her in disgust. “Excuse you?” he snarled.

“At least not by a vampire anyway,” Sue Corner drawled before making herself comfortable beside Rose.

Scorpious idly took out his wand but Lavender smacked his hand down and asked the girl calmly. “What are you talking about?”

Sue Corner had been glaring meanly at Albus, her cheeks a bit pink as he’d regarded her with pure dislike. Rose was looking anxious, “Oh, I was just doing some research after the last murder and I sort of know for a fact that it’s not a vampire that’s killing kids.”

Scorpious was looking reluctantly intrigued by this but Albus was glaring at Sue Corner and wondering what the heck her problem was. Lavender was frowning at her as well, “So, enlighten us all, Corner. What do you think it is?”

Rose said for her friend. “We were thinking that it was a werewolf.” Albus sent her an accusatory look and she paled a bit, “both of us were rather worried about everything because there are a lot of Death Eater kids here,”

“But nothing can get into Hogwarts!” Albus cried desperately.

Sue Corner sighed irritably. “We were just thinking hypothetically, Potter. Merlin,” she said in annoyance and almost kicked her in the face for sure. “Just say that something did get past the wards here…I overheard Professor Chang saying that they block out things that are dead, like Inferi—”

Scorpious was blank. “What?”

Lavender explained. “The reanimated corpse of a person that’s controlled by a Dark witch or wizard.” She looked pale in the face and Albus felt ill to his stomach because Voldemort had done something similar years and years ago. They had learned about it in History of Magic earlier in the week, “and you assume that it’s a werewolf because…?”

Albus had never heard so much dislike coming out of Lavender’s voice before and her eyes looked a bit strange, almost red around the edges but he shook it off. Scorpious’s eyes turned that color every so often, “Well, I was reading a bit more closely and it said that flesh was taken from the victims. Vampires don’t eat flesh!” Rose cried and Albus shuddered a bit. “ _Werewolves_ do.”

“But that doesn’t explain why they would be drained of blood.” Scorpious pointed out annoyingly. His skin was grey with fear and shock, “werewolves don’t drink blood.”

Sue Corner and Rose looked at each other as if they hadn’t thought of that.

Lavender spoke up again, her voice calmer, that weird glow in her red eyes gone and Albus was relieved to see it gone. “Unless it’s a werewolf pretending to be a vampire, but I don’t think that they got involved in the Second War at all…except for Greyback.”

The name caused Albus and the others to stiffen because they had all heard about him, that monster that had killed and devoured children. He had been dead for years but his name still made him pale considerably, “Well, all werewolves are evil like that guy used to be.” Sue Corner said bluntly.

“Oi, don’t say that! Our friend Teddy Lupin’s dad was a werewolf and my dad said that he was a really great person!” Albus said angrily and Sue Corner jumped and even Rose was glaring at her a bit, her cheeks flushed. “Come on, Scorpious, Lavender; let’s go back to our dorm.”

The other two seemed to agree with this but Rose took Sue Corner’s moldy and handed it to Lavender. “You…uhm, like to read, don’t you?”

“I do,” Albus heard his friend reply stiffly.

Rose said nervously while casting her eyes at Scorpious. “Well, uhm, you seem really smart and everything and this explains a lot of stuff about monsters and maybe you can figure all of this out.”

Albus wondered if it was some sort of peace offering and Lavender took the moldy book and nodded at her. She walked off across the common room to her sister, who had finally noticed her and called, “Lavvy, come over real quick!”

Scorpious was looking furious. “We’ll see you around, Weasley…nasty—” he said something to Sue Corner that had the common room falling silent and Albus dragged him away before the girl could take out her wand, her cheeks flaming red.

“Prat!” Sue Corner called after them.

Rose said to her. “You shouldn’t have said that thing about werewolves!”

“How was I supposed to know? I’m sorry, Rose but you know I hate that stinking Malfoy—” Sue Corner spat.

Scorpious twitched with annoyance and took out his wand and sent a curse flying over at Sue Corner before he could stop himself. It missed and crashed into the wall, a crater forming and Albus screaming, “Stop it!”

“Levicorpus!” Sue Corner shouted.

Albus was panicking and put his wand between them. “Protego!” and his Shield Charm exploded between them and though it wasn’t very strong, it blocked Sue’s attack and sent it flying.

There was a bang

A fifth year girl was screaming several feet from over the ground, her arms flailing as the common room roared with laughter. “Get me down!” she screamed, desperately trying to push her skirt up.

Scorpious was glaring at Sue Corner but Rose was panicking and as Albus became quite amazed with his own unexpected magic, Lavender rushed up. “Come on; let’s get out of here before someone calls a teacher!”

Albus, snapping out of his thoughts, grabbed Scorpious’s hand and they ran out of the common room to laughter and cries of confusion. As they ran down the many stairs, tripping and cursing, he snapped at his friend, “What’d you go and do that for?!”

“I hate her! She’s just like everyone else!” Scorpious panted as they finally made it back down, all three of them panting and wheezing. “Who does she think she is, anyway?!”

Lavender had to stop at some point; her hand braced on a wall, the moldy book in her other hand. “Could…could you wait up?” she panted.

Albus stopped and Scorpious snatched his arm back and shoved it in his robes and glared at them both. “Sorry,” he said to Lavender, walking up to her and rubbing her back. “Say you’re sorry Scorpious!”

“I’m not sorry! You should have let me stay and beat that hag up!” Scorpious spat angrily and his cheeks were flushed. For the first time, Albus thought he saw tears in his eyes, “everyone hates me and they wouldn’t care if I died!”

Lavender finally caught her breath. “I would care and you’re not going to die!” she cried, her cheeks turning pale. “Don’t think like that!”

Scorpious turned away from them and hissed. “You two are mental! I’m going to be killed…I’m going to be in that Daily Prophet,” before Albus could say anything, Lavender rushed up and pushed angrily at him.

“Shut up! You’re not going to die!” Lavender said and Scorpious looked as if he might argue that but she wrapped her free arm around his neck and hugged him. Albus watched his friend spluttering stupidly, “I like you, Scorpious and Albus likes you and we’re not going to let anything happen to you.”

There was a silence that was only broken up as Nearly Headless Nick floated by with the Bloody Baron and Albus saw that they were in deep conversation. Though he couldn’t hear what they were saying, it probably had nothing to do with him anyway and as they passed by, their chilliness leaving as well, he said to Scorpious, “She has a point you know. If you’re going to get eaten, why not get eaten with friends?”

Scorpious was blushing furiously and Lavender hadn’t let him go yet and he absently patted her on the back. “…Uhm…thanks…I guess.” He muttered.

“We’re going to get eaten together and that’s the only way that I’m going to like it!” Lavender cried hotly, letting him go. She chanced a glance out of the window, probably to wipe at her tears when she stopped short, “w…what is _that_?”

Albus walked up and thumped Scorpious on the back and they turned to look out into the night. From here, they could see a hint of the Black Lake and the imposing structure of the Forbidden Forest as the trees swayed in the breeze, Hagrid’s hut lit as Albus saw a dark, menacing figure working through the dark.

It seemed to be floating above the ground and Scorpious pressed his slightly flushed face to the window and gasped. “…It’s Zabini!” he cried.

Lavender was looking green in the face. “B-but you don’t know that!”

Albus was peering down at the dark figure but it was unmistakable to miss the flow of that familiar, sinister cloak. “I think it is! What’s he doing wandering into the Forbidden Forest?!” he cried, panicking.

Scorpious was pressing his face to the glass before Lavender said in a tone that suggested that she were smarter than both of them. Albus was aware of this fact but heard her say, “Well, he has to go in there for supplies for the stuff we need for Potions. But I don’t know why he’s going in right now…there’s nothing really out there really but Wolfsbane.”

“And what’s that?” Albus questioned curiously.

Lavender thought about it. “It’s a herb, I think. Some people use it for poisons and some people think that it can cure werewolf bites but there is no cure.” She said worriedly, “perhaps Zabini isn’t so bad if he’s looking to help people.”

Scorpious snorted and they watched as their odd professor walked into the Forest and melded into the darkness, like a shadow. It was rather eerie to watch, “He’s up to something. I know he is.”

“I think he’s a vampire for sure. I don’t even think he has a reflection.” Albus said with a certainty that made Scorpious pale. “And he hardly ever eats!”

“Maybe he has constipation…” Lavender replied calmly and they sent her dull stares before she turned pink. “I mean…he’s a vampire for sure.”

Oddly, that had them roaring with laughter.

Albus stretched. “Come on, let’s get back to Gryffindor Tower and get some sleep.” Lavender frowned. “What?”

“I want you to come into my room with me to see my piranha!” Lavender said as they began to walk, though Albus was still a bit unnerved by Zabini stalking through the Forbidden Forest…probably draining some monster of its blood as they spoke.

Scorpious said lazily. “If you want to snuggle with me, Lav, just say so.” Lavender spluttered and he laughed, “no? Guess it’s just going to be me and Albus tonight.”

Albus recoiled but was glad to see that he was feeling better about all that had happened and he smiled a bit to himself, wondering if tomorrow would be just as strange as tonight had been. After all, things couldn’t get much worse, right?

 

…….

 

The next morning, Albus and Scorpious were walking out of their dorm after ignoring the glares from Chris Finnegan and Elliot Thomas when they caught a bit of their conversation. “Can you believe it’s today?”

“I know! I’ve been waiting forever!” Elliot Thomas said.

Albus was worried now. “What’s today?” he asked them, stopping by the stairs and looking at them through their open dorm door. The two friends glared at him a bit and he snapped, “Look, I’m not going to blow you two up!”

“Didn’t you know? We’ve got our first flying lesson today! Afternoon classes are canceled after lunch for it.” Chris Finnegan answered stiffly.

Scorpious sneered. “Fall off and make our day. C’mon, Albus,” he said annoyingly and they walked down the stairs, lost in their own thoughts before he asked him, “nervous?”

Albus was actually very annoyed because if it had been in the morning then they wouldn’t have had to take Potions. Instead, he was missing nothing but History of Magic and happily Defense Against the Dark Arts, “Not really. I wonder when the Dueling Club is going to start?” he said this unthinkingly and said hastily as Scorpious frowned. “I’m only asking!”

“I don’t know. I didn’t see anything on the bulletin board.” Scorpious muttered and that was true. There’d been nothing else about it, really.

Albus wondered if they were having issues with arranging it with all the news in the Daily Prophet. Professor Chang had sounded nervous that night when they’d stolen the Sorting Hat so maybe they’d talked to Headmistress McGonagall and had it canceled? That made him nervous because he didn’t like having Scorpious out in some dark street and getting himself mauled, which made him ask, “Say, what are you doing for the holidays?”

Scorpious had been hunting for some sign of Lavender but they didn’t find her and it was a surprise. She usually waited up for them, “Huh? Oh, I don’t know. If I don’t show, my dad will get mad and then my mum will cry and think I won’t want to spend time with her.”

“What about your sister and brother?” Albus asked curiously, wondering if he didn’t want to really go back home because of his scary grandfather. He wouldn’t want to go back home either but he had a spanking to look forward to when his parents saw him again and that made his butt hurt already just thinking about it.

“Who said I had a brother?” Scorpious asked sharply.

Albus reeled back. “You did! Last night!”

Scorpious thought about it. “Oh. Right.” Albus sent him a look but he thought about it for a moment before shrugging, “Emily will be mad but my older brother Benjamin won’t care really, I hate him.”

Albus heard the animosity in his tone and could believe it. He loved his older brother, even if he was an obnoxious prat sometimes, “Well, why not just come round my house for Christmas?”

Scorpious looked eager. “Really? I’d like to meet your parents.”

“It’d be cool; I’ll send them an owl.” Albus said because he rather liked having Scorpious over at his house, it would give him someone to talk to instead of running away from Teddy Lupin, Freddie and James as they tried to beat him up.

“What do you want for Christmas anyway?” Scorpious asked him as they both waited for Lavender to arrive. After another ten minutes with more than half the students leaving the dorm for breakfast, he demanded, “where’d she go anyway? Did she fly off somewhere?”

Albus could imagine Lavender flying off into the distance and the image almost had him laughing. “Maybe she had another detention to do this morning.” That seemed to register well enough with Scorpious and he nodded stiffly before they headed out and down the corridor towards the Great Hall.

On the way, they saw Sally Creevey (She always wore a cap on her head to protect her from Scorpious now) and Samantha Jordan walking and chatting in some silly girl language. “Hey,” Albus said as he walked up.

Both girls turned and raised their upper lips at them but Albus was rather annoyed because Samantha Jordan hung round his brother and Mason Finnegan a lot so she knew him better than Sally. Scorpious sent them both glowering looks that had them reeling away a bit, “What is it Potter?” Sally demanded.

“Have you seen Lavender?” Albus asked her abruptly, nervous and blushing.

Scorpious shot him an irritated look.

Sally thought about it. “Hm…last I saw her, she was feeding that ugly piranha thing some frog liver that she’d gotten from Hagrid but haven’t seen her since. Why?” she asked hotly.

She hadn’t really taken to the fact that Lavender hung out with Albus and Scorpious very well. “Cause we want to know, it’s none of your business!” Scorpious spat at her.

Sally huffed. “No one was asking _you_ ,”

Samantha Jordan spoke up and Albus saw that she was looking uncomfortably at Scorpious, as if he might bite her. “I think she got an owl earlier this morning but I haven’t seen her and that was after she fed that fish.”

Albus wondered if she were being stuffed into a closet, devoid of life in Zabini’s office and that made him worry. He was seeing fogged over cauldrons, Zabini sipping her blood from a fancy goblet with gems on the rim… “Uh, thanks…” he said, pale.

Scorpious didn’t thank them and as they walked away, he asked. “What’s wrong with you?”

“What if Zabini is eating her?!” Albus cried.

“…It was nice knowing her.” Scorpious muttered.

Albus punched him in the arm, “Come on! She’s our friend!”

Scorpious spat. “I know that!”

“Then what’s your issue?!” Albus snapped. “We have to save her!”

“Why do that when she’s walking up?! I was just joking!” Scorpious cried angrily before pointing down the corridor at Lavender, who was indeed walking up to them, looking worn out. “Merlin, with that imagination, you should write stories!”

Albus sent him an aggravated look but turned in the direction of his eyes and saw Lavender walking up. Sally Creevey and Samantha Jordan stopped to chat with her for a moment before pointing back at the two of them and she said something before walking the rest of the way, with a grin on her face, “Hello boys!”

“Where’ve you been?” Scorpious barked. Lavender had walked up by this point and patted him on the arm without looking at him and blushed as she glanced at Albus. It irritated their blonde friend and he attacked her face, smashing her cheeks together meanly, “what’re you looking so bloody happy about?”

Albus cried. “Would you stop that?!”

Lavender was released after Albus had somehow managed to free her from Scorpious, who grumbled and muttered angrily. “I got an owl to come and help Mr. Hagrid again! He showed me a Blast-Ended Skrewt!”

“A what?” the boys asked.

For a moment, Albus had to think but then he recalled that his Uncle Ron had gone on about the beasts to them all for story time once. Their horror was almost too surreal and he now noticed that Lavender’s robes were singed, her hair standing on end and there was ash on her face, “Did they attack you?” Albus asked worriedly.

“Not really. He only has one left after all this time; the other ones ran off into the Forbidden Forest or died!” Lavender said excitedly. “He said that I can come back to see what it eats.”

Scorpious was pale. “Looks like it ate a bit of you.”

Lavender giggled. “No, but it did drag me around the grounds.” The boys gawped in terror, wondering how she could be so happy, “it wasn’t so bad. I was really scared at first but Mr. Hagrid is so very nice. Well, I have to change but I’ll meet you all at the Gryffindor table.”

Cheerfully, she walked back towards the Tower and Albus wondered if Hagrid had given her a talk. His father had told him that he was very good at making a person’s confidence boost, sort of like how Professor Longbottom had helped he and Scorpious last week and he smiled a bit, “At least she’s alive.”

Scorpious was actually looking worried as they walked the rest of the way to the Great Hall. As usual, there was a silence as many eyes glared at them, their own House hissing a bit as they sat down across from James and Mason, “We’ve got flying lessons today you know. What if she falls off?!”

“Then there’d be one less Misfit around.” Someone jeered and they angled their heads back to the see the wide, unsettling mass of Goyle standing behind them, his arms folded. “Bet you're scared, Potter, Malfoy. Famous daddies can’t save you out there on the pitch.”

James had been dumping eggs onto his plate but looked up at the impostor and said with a frown. “And what would you know? I don’t see that lovely face splashed on the cover of Quidditch Weekly.”

Mason laughed.

Scorpious asked Goyle. “Do you have a point coming over here?”

“Just thought I’d put some fear into you two losers. You’re going to fall right off your brooms and then there’s not gonna be any special treatment from anyone, especially for you Malfoy.” Goyle said meanly.

Albus snorted. “What special treatment? We destroy everything we touch!”

Scorpious was glaring at Goyle meanly. “That’s just a rumor and maybe you should stop being such a prat and get out of our faces.”

“I don’t care what anyone says, you’re no prince of mine. Dad’s into Mudbloods after all.” Goyle said and the forbidden word seemed to slime out of his tongue and the entire Gryffindor table went silent in shock and outrage.

Though Sally Creevey was too busy scenting for blood, Albus noted angrily. Before anyone could even begin to think of something to do, there was a blast of light from nearly all directions and Albus and the others ducked as Goyle was thrown back onto the floor, howling in pain. “Stinking prat!” it was Lavender and she was looking, for the first time, furious, “get out of here!”

Albus and Scorpious looked up to see her walking up, Rose and Sue Corner beside her, though it wasn’t sure whose hex had fired first. All three of them were furious and the Gryffindor table and the other House tables (Aside from Slytherin) burst into cheers. “Lavender!” they cried.

But their friend had a look on her dark face that they had never seen before and if Albus hadn’t have known any better, she looked as if she might cry. Goyle was holding his face, sprawled horribly on the ground and as Albus wondered how soon they were going to get into trouble, did Zabini show up. He seemed to carry with him a sense of doom, decay and plain nastiness and the entire Gryffindor table blanched and the cheers died immediately, “What is going on here?” he hissed.

Lavender explained while stowing away her wand with a glare that made Albus and Scorpious exchange a look. “Sir, he said that word.”

Zabini glanced down at his feet and seemed to just now notice that Goyle was howling in pain. Albus looked down at him to see that his skin was turning purple and swollen, little mushrooms breaking along his already ugly face, “What word?” their teacher demanded.

“I’m not going to say it.” Lavender snarled.

Scorpious said it. “He called my step-mum a…Mudblood.” Zabini’s nostrils flared and Albus looked away from that horrible sight at the staff table to see that the other teachers were whispering to one another.

They were going to be expelled.

This was the final straw.

Instead, Zabini’s dark eyes narrowed and as he thought the most horrible thoughts turned in his brain. Professor Chang came up, looking worried. “Blaise, what’s going on?”

“It seems that Mr. Goyle has a disgusting habit of saying foul words.” Zabini said to her, his gaze raking over her as if he found her unimportant. Professor Chang looked down and frowned at Goyle, who was now twitching, “I won’t bother taking him to the hospital wing, he’s fine where he’s at.”

Scorpious and Albus exchanged looks and James asked. “Pass the ketchup would you, Al?” and distractedly, he turned and handed his brother the bottle and watched as he dumped some on his eggs, Mason devouring a plate of pancakes and looking unconcerned.

Professor Chang sent Zabini a weary look. “Blaise, take him to the hospital wing, be a dear.” Albus and Scorpious gawped at her nerve to call that creature a dear.

That thought had him wondering a bit because he recalled that Zabini had been stalking into the Forbidden Forest last night. Though he looked as intimidating and unholy as usual, Albus could tell that he was tired, there were circles under his eyes that made him wonder what he had been doing out there…feasting on the damned.

Zabini sent her an aggravated look. “Fifty points from Slytherin Goyle for your disgusting language and if I get one more complaint from anymore students about you, I’ll personally,” what he said then had the Gryffindor table reeling back in terror and Professor Chang gawped at him.

“Blaise!” she cried, aghast.

Goyle was now sitting up, having heard the pure hiss from hell and looked up through his swollen, purple face. If Albus didn’t know any better, he might have actually squealed a bit before Zabini reached down and yanked him up by his upper arm, “Yesh, sir,” he mumbled thickly.

Zabini said nothing else but hissed at all those who had come to watch, some of the other House students standing on benches to get a better look. “Get back to your meal! Now!” he snarled and they jumped back and went back to their Houses.

As he started to drag the boy away as if he weighed nothing at all, he paused by Lavender, Rose and Sue Corner. He glared down at them but said something to Lavender and she nodded a bit before rushing up to Albus and Scorpious, his cousin and her friend following, still rather pink in the face, “Ms. Patil,” Professor Chang started out awkwardly.

Lavender was sitting between Albus and Scorpious but she didn’t look up as she started to butter a bit of toast. “I’ll take as many detentions as possible,”

“Oh, I’m not going to give you a detention, you’re swamped enough as it is, dear.” Professor Chang said in surprise. “But I will have to have you clean out the dungeons later tonight with Filch.”

“Okay,” Lavender said.

Professor Chang now turned to Rose and Sue Corner and wagged her finger at them and fussed for a long time but Albus didn’t care because he was gawping at Lavender as if he didn’t know who she was. “Uhm, Lavender—”

Scorpious interrupted. “You’re bloody brilliant!”

Lavender jumped a bit and stared at him. “What?”

James said. “You hexed someone, Patil! Excellent spell—now, what was it?” he asked curiously, Mason looking curious beside him.

Albus shot him a look and glanced over his shoulder to see Rose and Sue Corner coming up, looking angry. “Thanks for that,” he said.

Scorpious was still going on to Lavender, who was turning red.

“It was the least we could do, Potter.” Sue Corner drawled and the sound of her voice made Scorpious twitch in annoyance and anger but he didn’t take his attention off of Lavender.

Oddly, Rose looked a bit miffed by the sight before she frowned hotly. “I don’t like that word! And to say it so casually, I can’t believe him!”

Lavender shushed Scorpious by stuffing her toast into his mouth and while Albus wondered if he would choke, she said sharply. “I can! It’s not the first time I’ll hear that word.” Her tone was acidic and it frightened him. “I hate bullies. When I almost drowned…some people threw me into the water…calling me a Mudblood…”

The entire fell silent and Albus and Scorpious stared at her in horror, unable to believe what they had just heard.

 

 

 

 

 

 


	9. Brooms and Blood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Albus and his two Misfit friends learn a bit more about each other, though Scorpious's family history seems to lead them in a darker direction, their suspicions about Zabini the Vampire are put in a whole new light. When Rose, once again comes up with an idea to solve the problem, Albus is too distracted by Sally Creevey's ego to really worry, even though he should be.

Albus, Scorpious and Lavender found themselves sitting apart from the rest of the flying lesson on some cool grass later on that day. The excitement over the moment when they would learn how to fly seemed to pale in comparison to the fact that one of his friends, who was very nice, had had something that terrible happen to her.

He stared at her quizzically.

Albus wasn’t able to explain it exactly but she seemed happy…happier than a normal person should be in his opinion. But he didn’t think that she was faking it at all, Lavender just breezed through.

As much of a coward as she could be, she seemed perfectly happy in her own little world, forgetting about her problems and just floating by. Albus wasn’t sure if that should concern him or spark envy but he watched her fingers weaving leaves and flowers together into a crown, as if nothing odd had transpired. “Tell me who did it.” Scorpious commanded for the millionth time.

During breakfast after her announcement, Lavender had gotten sympathy from nearly the entire Gryffindor table. Sally Creevey had plucked her away from Scorpious and Albus so fast that they had been talking to her essence for at least five minutes before they realized she was gone.

But the sympathy had worn down after a while as James and Mason had asked her what sort of hex she’d used on Goyle and after Lavender had shyly given it to them; they’d rushed off after Louis the Prefect.

Albus wondered if they would be seen again during dinner and highly doubted it, they would most likely have some sort of detention but he and Scorpious had hardly cared. They’d been rather overprotective of Lavender all day, hissing and spitting at anyone that dared to look at her wrong and she’d told them both not to bother, “No one really cares. Its sweet, boys but if I were pretty they would be making more of a fuss.”

Albus had been annoyed to realize that that had been true.

She hadn’t even mentioned anything else about the traumatizing incident, though her dark eyes had been a bit downcast on some occasions. Oddly, her happiness reminded him of Scorpious’s moods…they shifted depending on what was happening almost without her wanting them to, “Scorpious leave her alone.” Albus said now.

Their moody blonde friend had revenge on his mind and he snarled. “I know people, Lav! I could have them taken care of for you.” Scorpious said to their smiling friend now, ignoring him.

Albus gawped. “Wait what?”

Lavender smiled at Scorpious worriedly. “You really don’t have to do something like that, Scorpious. It’s okay.”

“It’s _not_ okay!” Scorpious snapped hotly.

Albus punched him in the arm. “Don’t yell at her!”

Scorpious hissed back. “Don’t hit me!”

“Then don’t yell at Lavender!”

“Ooh, I see what’s going on—”

“That is _not_ what’s going on, prat!”

“Who’re you calling a prat?!”

Albus huffed. “I’m calling you a prat, _prat_!”

Scorpious looked as if he were about to say something but Lavender finished her crown of flowers and placed it onto his head. Albus was so distracted by the little flowers in his hair (Which had been dying due to the weather) that he roared with laughter and forgot about what they were arguing about, “W-what the heck is this?”

Lavender looked proud of herself and she’d walked all along the grounds gathering the flowers and long grasses, though neither of them had asked what she had been gathering them for. The flying lesson had been forgotten and Madame Jordan, the inspector still hadn’t noticed that they were missing, Albus noted dryly, “Goyle called you a prince!”

Scorpious scowled meanly and tore off the crown furiously and threw it onto the ground. “I’m _not_ a prince!” he snapped furiously. Lavender made a motion towards the crown and Albus sent him a dark look, “I’m not a prince!”

“What’s it mean anyway?” Albus asked him irritably. “Wasn’t he just being a git?” Goyle was probably wishing he hadn’t said a thing. He could imagine Zabini reading boring magazines to him while he was suspended by his toes from the ceiling and he shuddered, “we know you’re not a prince.”

“There _are_ no wizard princes! Honestly, Albus!” it was Rose and Sue Corner and Albus groaned in irritation as they made their way over. Apparently the flying lesson hadn’t been much to their liking either as they made themselves comfortable on the grass with them, “but I _would_ like to know what Goyle was talking about!”

Scorpious looked as if he might do something rather mean to Rose just then and Albus shot him a warning look. Instead of attacking his cousin, he shot Sue Corner a dirty look and tugged on Lavender’s hair as she leaned forward to take the crown from him, “He’s just being a prat, it’s none of _your_ business Weasley.”

“I think it is! He was picking on my cousin and Patil!” Rose said hotly.

Scorpious shot back. “And Albus and Lavender are my friends, not you and your mean friend.” He sneered and Lavender looked delighted even though he was currently using her hair to tickle his chin, “it’s just some stupid rumor.”

Albus watched Rose scowling at him but he wondered if it had more to do with the fact that his friend was messing with Lavender and not her. Sue Corner was scowling meanly at him for no reason and he shot her an irritated look, “What sort of rumor? You never talk about your family.”

“Can you blame me?” Scorpious asked hotly. Albus held up his hands to fend him off and after a moment his friend busied himself by braiding Lavender’s hair and he shot him a look, “Emily makes me do it! Don’t judge me!” he shouted.

Sue Corner asked dryly. “Why are you shouting?”

Scorpious hissed at her.

Rose brought up the conversation back to the point. “What sort of rumor would start from Goyle of all people calling you a prince?” she made a great show of raking him, as if he were a worm.

Scorpious glowered at her. “Remember you owe me a favor, Weasley.” He said lightly and Rose turned pink with annoyance, “it’s just a stupid rumor. When my dad was supposed to kill the Headmaster and failed,” Albus didn’t like the turn of this conversation already. “There was supposedly some deal made between my family and Voldemort—”

Sue Corner started. “Don’t say his name!”

Albus snorted. “He’s been dead for years!”

Scorpious ignored them both and watched the two of them bickering for a long moment, Lavender humming pleasantly before he finally decided that he should interrupt as Albus looked like he might actually fight the girl. “ _Anyway_ ,” he said loudly. “The rumor was that because he didn’t kill the Headmaster, I had to take his place and lead purebloods back into dominance and all that—” he said something here that had Albus covering Rose’s ears while Lavender gaped at their friend disapprovingly. Sue Corner just glared at him in revulsion, “it’s just a bunch of stupidity, really. My Grandfather thinks it’s true though and I really hate him.”

“That’s awful!” Rose cried.

It was more than awful, Albus thought. It was sick, actually and he could finally understand why he wouldn’t want to go home for Christmas with something like that looming over the house, “But it’s not like its true!”

“Of course it’s not!” Lavender cried suddenly, looking stricken. “Scorpious wouldn’t do something like that. Pureblood dominance was ridiculous then and it would be ridiculous now.”

Sue Corner pointed out sourly. “Your blonde friend is a pureblood and so am I.”

Lavender smiled at Scorpious and he quirked his brow. “Well, I _like_ him. I never said anything about liking you.” Albus roared with laughter.

Rose hastily said over Sue Corner’s hasty reply. “But that’s just silly! There’s not even any Death Eaters left after the War.”

Scorpious appraised Lavender’s braided hair for a moment before starting on another long lock. Albus just stared at him in disbelief, “That’s where you’re wrong, Weasley. There are plenty of them around and just because you don’t see or hear about them doesn’t mean that they’re not—my grandfather reminds me all the time.”

Albus was starting to really hate his grandfather and felt an uncomfortable jolt go down his back. It felt eerily like the sense of doom he got when his Aunt Hermione decided to cook, “But you’re not going to do something like that. Is your grandfather you know…all there?”

Scorpious laughed at his expression and a bitter look crossed his features and Rose stared at him doubtfully. “Well, he was in St. Mungo’s for curse damage to his brain, some kids got to him for trying to kill them at the battle. Or so my dad says and he got out after a few years and was never right since.”

He didn’t sound sorry and Albus couldn’t blame him. “But your dad makes you see him anyway?”

“My grandparents both live with us so it’s sort of hard to ignore him.” Scorpious muttered irritably, untangling Lavender’s hair as he did so. She was repairing the crown in her lap, looking thoughtful and worried, “and Benjamin too. Merlin only knows how much I wish _he’d_ just go away.”

Albus wondered what his brother was like and pictured a bigger Scorpious and recoiled a bit. If he were anything like his friend, then his moods were probably a million times worse, “How come you don’t like your brother?”

“Why _should_ I?” Scorpious shot back.

Rose turned the conversation around. “Well, there are _no_ wizard princes and Malfoy wouldn’t know how to start some sort of pureblood revolution!” Scorpious glared at her meanly, “and that sort of thing can’t happen again!”

Albus hoped that that was true but he didn’t want to mention that people had thought the same thing about Voldemort—and he’d come back twice. “And Scorpious doesn’t have to do anything. We’ve got enough to worry about right now. Like vampires—”

“You mean Zabini,” Scorpious muttered, skin pale.

Sue Corner finally spoke up sharply. “I don’t think it’s a vampire that’s attacking the Death Eater kids! Vampires don’t eat flesh.”

“And werewolves don’t drink blood either.” Albus reminded furiously. “And how would a werewolf get all the names of the kids and their addresses and stuff?”

That had them all thinking rather hard before Lavender spoke up and she sounded rather grim. “Werewolves look like normal people before the full moon. What if it’s someone working at the Ministry? They’d be able to get the information if they’re working close to someone else who does the stories.”

Rose suddenly thought about something and her skin was pale, which made her freckles stand out very vividly. “And my mum says that they had all the Death Eaters register with the Ministry to keep track of them! What if someone—werewolf or vampire somehow stole that information and is using them to kill the kids?”

Albus felt his skin going over in a chill and could only imagine what it might be like to have that sort of power on your hands. The list was probably very long and that meant that more than hundreds of Death Eaters were on that list, which meant that it might not ever end, “We have to tell someone.”

“I’ll write my mum tonight!” Rose said decidedly.

Sue Corner looked stunned. “They’re not going to believe a bunch of _kids_!”

Albus reminded hotly. “My dad was just a kid when he saved the world you know, kids can do anything! That’s what he told me!”

Rose also agreed with him and said firmly. “And a lot of kids stayed and fought the last time during the War. Things are different now but the adults will know what to do.”

Lavender had been whispering reassurances to Scorpious this entire time and he was warmed to see it. Their friend rested his forehead on her shoulder for just the briefest moment but it was a moment that no one missed, “There’s still a problem.” They all stared at her warily, “the wards on the school keep out dead things, like Inferi but werewolves are _alive_. One could easily slip through…or might be here already.”

Albus thought of the fact that the three of them had seen Zabini prowling through the darkness into the Forbidden Forest. He quickly told Rose and Sue Corner (Much to Scorpious’s annoyance) and by the end he was crying, “What if he’s a werewolf? Didn’t you say that there’s only that Wolfsbane herb out there, Lav?”

“But there’d have to be a bite!” Rose said, aghast.

Scorpious drawled. “Go peek in his bath, Weasley.”

Lavender ignored them as they started to bicker like two old people, Sue Corner looking at her nails. “And I’ve never heard about him being off on the full moon.”

Albus thought about it for a moment. “Maybe he’s working with it! Maybe he got the list of the Death Eater kids from McGonagall and sent it to his friend!”

That was stretching it a bit because Zabini didn’t look as if he had ever had a friend in his life. But the others were gawping, Scorpious and Rose having ended their squabble long enough to listen to him and they looked stunned and scared even, “How are we going to prove _that_?” Scorpious asked.

“Someone should sneak into his office.” Albus heard Rose say decisively and he stared at her, wondering if she had a knack for sneaking into people’s personal rooms. It was one thing to go into the Headmistress’s room, but to sneak into Zabini’s coffin was asking for them to be murdered, “we should get the Cloaks together again and break into his room and find that list!”

Albus held up his hands to calm her down. “Err, Rose, wait a min—”

Rose interrupted him, Sue Corner looking just as incensed as she nodded her head in agreement. “We should do it before the Halloween Feast, if we leave during it, everyone will—”

Scorpious overrode her dryly. “If we leave during the Feast or don’t show up they’ll notice. But if we sneak off during it they shouldn’t care and the teachers will be too busy getting fat!”

Albus thought he had the worst companions in the world and he stared at Lavender beseechingly and she sighed pleasantly. She didn’t look as if she wanted to go and the thought of being in Zabini’s personal quarters was making her cheeks turn a bit green with whatever strange thoughts were in her head, “What if it’s _not_ him? What if we go all that way and it’s not him?”

That question hung in the air for a long time but just as Albus was about to suggest that they forget about it, they felt a shadow descend onto the grass. Jumping, the group turned to see Madame Jordan glaring down at them, “I _thought_ someone was missing from the group! What are you all doing over here?”

Albus stared up into her eyes and watched her push her blonde hair behind her ear. He had never met her before but James had told him over lunch the other day that she was also the Muggle Studies teacher and was rumored to be the weirdest teacher next to their Aunt Luna, “Uhm…talking about Quidditch?”

“I hope _so_ , Mr. Potter!” Madame Jordan said indignantly, as if the very thought of them chatting about something else were unholy. “Now stop chatting and come over and join the group or I’ll take points—not that Gryffindor needs to lose any more points with you Misfits around,” she added dryly.

Albus frowned.

Did the teachers have to call them that too?

Scorpious and Lavender stood up and she placed the crown onto her head happily, their blonde friend looking as if he might smack it off her. Sue Corner and Rose had also stood, looking determined as he managed to stand, hoping that their lie and intentions weren’t being shown too easily. “ _Are_ you going to dock points?” he asked.

“Nah,” Madame Jordan said lightly while ushering them over to the large group in the distance that was already standing with their brooms. Some people were looking around, trying to see what the problem had been and Albus could only imagine what they were going to say when they saw that it was them, “but you’ll have to make it up to me by being really good on this first lesson, okay?”

Albus smiled up at her and she winked at him. He hoped that she didn’t think that just because his dad was a great Seeker that he had any special talents because although he had been on a broom before, he was quite sure that he would fall off now. There was no hope for a Misfit after all, “Okay,” he muttered miserably.

By the time they made it over to the group, the others were glaring at them hotly but Albus was too worried about breaking his head open to notice. Scorpious was shooting Lavender worried looks as she stood beside her broom, looking airy and happy for no reason at all. Right now, Albus envied her.

Madame Jordan went to the front of the group and placed her hand on her hip importantly. They all stared at her impatiently, a cold wind blowing and ruffling their hair as she said seriously, “Now. Flying isn’t easy and I don’t want you all to think that it’s some sort of frilly joke—if you’re not careful, you could get seriously hurt.”

It figured.

“Now, first of all, I want you to hold out your hand and say up!” Madame Jordan commanded with a keen look.

Albus held out his hand to the wreck of a Firebolt and said firmly. “Up!” many of the others shot the command out but only a few were able to get their broom into their hands on the first try.

He was not among them.

Sue Corner was though and she seemed startled and scared of it as she held it in her hand. Rose was having no luck and was turning red in the face, which made her look like a bright apple, “With feeling now! Up!” Madame Jordan said to Sally Creevey, whose broom merely rolled over onto the grass like a dog.

Samantha Jordan’s hit her in the nose.

Scorpious laughed.

Lavender gave him a disapproving look even though Albus swore that her lips were twitching along with his. Samantha Jordan rubbed at her nose and glared hotly at them, the group of Ravenclaws and other Gryffindors still trying impatiently to get their brooms into their hands, “Up!” Albus cried strongly to his broom for the sixth time.

Finally, the object decided that he was somehow worthy of it and leapt into his hand. Lavender yawned and pleasantly asked her broom to come up and he was stunned when it obeyed, “How did you do that?” Scorpious snapped.

“If you’re nice to things, they’re nice to you.” Lavender replied happily.

Rose had somehow managed to get her broom into her hand and stumbled a bit as she almost lost her grip. She sent Scorpious a smug look and because they were across from them with their own House, his friend couldn’t kick her properly and snarled threateningly to his broom, “UP.” And Albus was certain that it only worked because he’d scared the thing half to death.

After the rest of the class got their brooms into their hands and Madame Jordan had helped out a few (Elliot Thomas was the last one to get his into his hand), she said with a firm nod. “Now, I want you to mount it and grip the end tight.”

Scorpious laughed.

Albus snorted and had to bury his chuckle into his arm.

Lavender looked confused as to what was so funny but they did as they were told and she gripped hers in surprisingly firm fingers. It was then that Scorpious was looking a bit anxious. “Creevey, you’re doing that completely wrong.” Madame Jordan chastised to the girl while rushing up and stopping her from getting too excited.

Sally Creevey frowned in annoyance as her grip was corrected and she said hotly, so that everyone could hear. “But I’ve been doing this for _years_!”

“Well, you’ve been doing it wrong for years—look at how Patil has her grip on her broomstick—Mr. Malfoy, I wasn’t making a dirty joke you little pervert,” Madame Jordan said with a grin as Scorpious roared with laughter, Albus choking on his own tongue while the girls looked exasperated (Lavender still didn’t get it), “anyway, see the way she has her grip on the end? Mr. Malfoy, shut up. You should try and get it exactly that way, try again.”

Sally Creevey fumed and sent Lavender a dirty look that had her blanching and looking very hurt. Scorpious glared at her in return, Albus hoping fervently that she fell off before noticing how nice her hair looked today… “Okay. How about now?” she asked impatiently to their inspector.

Madame Jordan checked her grip before nodding and stepping back to the front of the ground. “Okay. Now, I only want you little monsters to kick off lightly from the ground, hover for a moment and then lightly, _lightly_ —” she shot Chris Finnegan a frown as he looked as if he might bolt, “touch back down. Okay?”

The class nodded eagerly.

“All right?” Madame Jordan was smiling affectionately at them all and Albus had a feeling that she either liked seeing broken limbs or really enjoyed children. At least she didn’t look like she ate them like Zabini as she drew a whistle from her cleavage, (Scorpious nudged Albus in the ribs, gawping at that) and placed it to her chin, “one, two _three_ —!” and blew.

Before anyone could even attempt to do anything more than dig their heels into the ground, Sally Creevey, who apparently had a damaged pride, shot off. Albus had to admit that she was a very good flier and Sue Corner snarled, “She’s _such_ a show off!”

“What a hag!” Chris Finnegan cried as the girl soared around them, some of the other students crowing with delight and cheering her on.

It wasn’t a good idea.

Albus wasn’t sure what it was about that girl, but she seemed to thrive on attention and she did all sorts of crazy, dangerous loops. Madame Jordan blew on her whistle sharply, “Ms. Creevey, get back down here right _now_!”

But Sally was far beyond her reach and flew higher until she was barely a dot in the sky. Albus had to squint to see her and just as she flew as high as she could—something went terribly wrong and he heard Rose scream, “SHE’S FALLING!”

And, terrified and stunned, the class watched as Sally Creevey lost her grip on her broom and started falling slowly to earth. Scorpious muttered, “Now that’s a damn shame.”

Madame Jordan immediately snatched a broom from a student; intent on rescuing the girl but Lavender of all people was already in the air. Albus felt his hair rustling as his friend flew expertly onto her broom, going at such a speed on the thing that he almost thought that they were brand new and he shouted, “Be careful!” in a panic.

Scorpious’s jaw dropped.

Lavender somehow made it over to Sally Creevey before her little body collided with the ground and though she had to be heavy, she was able to grab her by the neck of her robes. Madame Jordan was already kicking off and flying over, the three of them floating eerily in the blue sky, Lavender holding on to Sally as strongly as she could even though she started to fall. Albus felt Scorpious grab his arm.

His heart felt as if it had been squeezed tight and Rose was crying while Sue Corner rubbed her absently on the back, every single eye riveted on the sight high above them. Somehow, Madame Jordan was able to grab Sally Creevey and toss her onto her broom and Lavender managed the most amazing move by hanging upside down on her own as something threatened to fall.

Albus thought for sure that she would slip but she flipped back straight and flew back down to meet them, their instructor eventually landing some feet away. Madame Jordan eventually crouched down on the grass, “ _Lavender_!” Scorpious shouted.

He was rushing over before anyone else, Albus stumbling along after him with the rest of the class. There were wild cries going from everyone in the group about what had just happened and Albus had a feeling that whether Lavender was pretty or not had nothing at all to do with flying.

“Amazing flying, Patil!” some Ravenclaw boy was crying.

Samantha Jordan sounded worried. “Who cares about _Patil_? Sally is hurt!”

Chris Finnegan misinterpreted her words. “She’s dead, isn’t she?!”

“She’s not dead!” Samantha sobbed.

“She _is_?” someone else asked hopefully.

Elliot Thomas was panting beside Albus and holding onto his side as they finally reached Lavender, half the class going to check on Sally Creevey while Madame Jordan tried to get her breathing back even. “Merlin, that was brilliant Lavvy!” the boy cried.

Albus paused in his wondering if Sally would be okay and think twice about being a show off and stared hard at him. “Lavvy?” he asked.

But before the other boy could reply to him, looking a bit embarrassed, Lavender touched down onto the grass. She flung her hair out of her face and Albus was oddly stunned to note that she still had the crown on her head and had a feeling that that was why she had hung upside down, so as not to lose it. “Merlin are you all right?!” Scorpious shouted to her.

“Oh, hello Scorpious!” Lavender said happily, looking quite fine.

Scorpious stared at her in blatant disbelief. “What the (Albus winced) are you?”

Madame Jordan had been busily tending to Sally Creevey, who appeared to have merely fainted. She was cradling her easily enough in her arms still and Albus could barely see her hands moving, a clear sign that she would live (Elliot Thomas looked disappointed), “Five points from Gryffindor Malfoy! Watch that potty mouth!”

Lavender was being surrounded by the other half of the class and millions of questions were being issued out of about a million mouths. Albus had to fight his way over to her, “Uhm, thanks,” she said as a Ravenclaw boy gave her his address on hastily drawn parchment.

Scorpious snatched it from her and ripped it to pieces.

The boy spluttered and Albus rolled his eyes but Elliot Thomas was upon them and pulled Lavender into a tight hug. Scorpious gawped at him, furious, “That was amazing!”

“Oh, thank you!” Lavender cried, hugging him back.

Albus and Scorpious exchanged looks because they had never seen the two of them really talking before. Elliot treated the three of them just like everyone else did, as if they would blow anything they touched into a billion pieces. “What’re you doing hugging all over her?” Scorpious asked hotly.

Elliot pulled away from her and said sourly. “We’re cousins.”

“….Very funny.” Albus said doubtfully.

Lavender patted Elliot on the cheek absently. “Oh, but it’s true! His mum is my Aunt Padma!” Albus stared at the two of them, seeking a family resemblance and saw that their eyes held the same shape…the line of their jaw maybe.

“But you never _talk_ to Lavender!” Scorpious pointed out meanly.

Elliot looked a bit abashed by this and Lavender said with a shrug. “Why should he? I see him and Chris all the time back home. And anyway, I’m such a loser and he doesn’t want to ruin his reputation.”

Albus roared with laughter. “You’re like a blunt ax!”

Scorpious snapped at Elliot. “Stop letting her get bullied if you’re her cousin!”

“I’ll do what I want, Malfoy!” Elliot cried hotly.

Lavender was pleasantly oblivious. “I don’t care what you do, Elliot. You’ve got your friends and I have mine. But I’m okay,” she assured him with a smile and he gave her a small frown, “go away.”

Elliot shrugged and Albus just stared at her, wondering what sort of creature she was before the boy walked off. Apparently, he was used to it, “Why didn’t you mention that you were related?” he asked.

“I didn’t think it mattered and Elliot’s always been real embarrassed that we share blood.” Lavender said sadly. Scorpious looked furious, “See—my Aunt Padma and my mum don’t get along too well.”

The chatter around them about the recent events seemed to dull a bit and Albus was glad that the big group was dispersing. Sue Corner and Rose were still trying to make their way over, “How come?”

Lavender looked uncomfortable and Scorpious appeared very curious, as she didn’t talk about her family often. The only things they knew were, recently, that she had five sisters and didn’t know who her father was, “It’s because of me, I guess. My mum still won’t say who my dad is—I don’t even know my blood status.”

Albus frowned. “That’s not important!” it was that sort of talk that had spurred Voldemort on during the first two Wars. All that silly talk about being a pureblood, half-blood or being Muggle-born was probably the stupidest things he had ever heard and he could honestly say that it didn’t matter who was what.

After all, Scorpious was a pureblood and so was his Uncle Ron but neither of them (His uncle admitted to this quite a bit) were all that great at magic. Rose was half-blood and probably the smartest person in the world in his opinion and his Aunt Hermione was a Muggle-born.

“My mum won’t tell me or anyone else about him. She doesn’t even have a photo! All my other sisters have the same dad—he died before I was born.” Lavender admitted reluctantly, her cheeks pink with what might have been embarrassment and shame for her mother’s actions.

Albus could only imagine how much it bothered her not knowing and only having an Invisibility Cloak that may or may not be his. Her mum wouldn’t have given it to her for any reason but the not knowing must be hard on her, “But that’s not your fault or anything. If your mum hadn’t have had you, then there’d be only two of us!”

Lavender looked delighted and stunned. “Albus, you’re so nice!”

Scorpious nodded savagely, agreeing with what Albus had said and because his family had been known for being the most ignorant people (His mother’s words) in the Wizarding world, he could only imagine how irritated he got. Just knowing what sort of person his father had been aggravated him enough, “It really isn’t Lav and who would I cuddle with at night if _you_ weren’t around?”

Lavender looked happy about that but Albus had a feeling that it bothered her not to know more about her father. She patted Scorpious on the head as if he were some sort of pet and he grumbled annoyingly, “Well, anyway, my aunt and mum don’t get on too good because of it even though I see her and Elliot and his sister a lot.”

“ _He_ has a sister?” Scorpious asked distastefully.

Lavender nodded. “Her names Pamela, she starts next year.” Scorpious didn’t look too pleased about that when he didn’t get along well with Elliot. Albus didn’t bother trying really but he hoped that Lily and Hugo made new friends without any complications when they started next year, “but I’m sorry, I should have said something I suppose.”

“It’s okay,” Albus assured as she looked worried. “If you come round for Christmas, I can introduce you to all my family.” Lavender looked delighted and rather eager not to go home this year either, “you and Scorpious can both come.”

They attempted to chat more but more and more of their classmates kept coming over and asking Lavender questions. Albus and Scorpious frowned before walking off with her in the midst of someone’s questions and she gave them a relieved smile as he shooed them away, “Thank you!”

“Who taught you how to do that?” Scorpious demanded while covertly scanning her for any wounds. They were closer to Madame Jordan now and Albus was able to spot out his cousin in the midst of the crowd, Sue Corner beside her and he couldn’t blame them for giving up on checking on Lavender.

It seemed like the class was rather rowdy.

Albus angled his head at Lavender and watched as Scorpious took her face in his hands and angled it this way and that. She laughed, “What are you doing?”

“Checking for wounds!” Scorpious declared importantly. The sight made Rose huff even while Chris Finnegan was offering her a handkerchief that looked as if it had never been washed to dry her face, “you were bloody brilliant you know.”

Lavender turned pink and spent a moment or two adjusting the flowery reef onto her head with a smile after Albus smacked him away. “Thank you, Scorpious!”

Albus smiled at her and asked. “Who taught you how to do all that?” he was rather eager to know.

Lavender shrugged as if the information wasn’t really all that important. Scorpious gawped at her bland expression. “Oh, my sister Angelina taught me. I practice at home with her when she comes round.”

“She taught you how to do all that?! You were amazing,” Albus complimented fervently as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, Scorpious doing the same on her other side, “how did you manage to get there in time?”

Lavender frowned worriedly. “I wasn’t sure if I would! She shouldn’t have done that spiral loop. It’s probably why she lost her grip!” she said angrily.

Scorpious sighed wistfully. “If _only_ …”

Albus shot him a look.

Just then, though, Lavender let out a little cry and ducked under their arms to rush back to the class. Scorpious looked annoyed as she rushed over to Madame Jordan and Albus nudged him over.

Madame Jordan told the class to move back a bit so Sally could get some air and fanned the girl’s face idly with her robe sleeve, looking annoyed but relieved that she was alive. “Is she going to be okay?” Lavender asked worriedly, upon getting to her.

“Oh, she’ll be fine. She just fainted, is all.” Madame Jordan said dismissively and Albus snickered a bit. “That was some amazing flying, Patil. Have you ever thought of playing Quidditch?”

Rose appeared suddenly and Albus turned to see that she was standing with Sue Corner, Chris Finnegan and Elliot Thomas. Chris looked simply pleased that she was holding onto his arm for dear life (The nasty handkerchief was in her other hand) and Albus felt a spark of annoyance. “But she _can’t_! We’re only first years.” She cried.

“No need to sound so pleased Weasley.” Scorpious sneered back at her.

Rose spluttered. “S-shut up!”

Scorpious laughed meanly. “No need to be so _jealous_.”

“I’m _not_ jealous!” Rose denied icily.

Albus wondered if she was but he ignored them and heard Madame Jordan saying to Lavender slyly. “I’m sure if I tell Headmistress McGonagall about you, she’ll change her mind. With that flying, you could be one _excellent_ Chaser.”

Lavender was blushing furiously and Albus was gawping in amazement and couldn’t wait to write his father and tell him about it.

When he had been a first year, he had somehow made it onto the Quidditch team and became the best Seeker on the team next to his Uncle Charlie (Who said that he was still the best of course).

Albus was pretty proud to say that his father had had enough skill to go professional but he’d decided to kill Voldemort first. Oddly, that was a lot more important than Quidditch and he was glad for it but couldn’t help wondering why his father had never decided to play for any teams.

Not that he needed to, he noted with a spark of envy.

Scorpious was still fighting with Rose so he missed the brief flicker of his eyes and Albus shook it off. He himself would just have to wait till next year before trying out for the Gryffindor team and he heard Lavender ask to Madame Jordan in a shaky sort of voice, “Y-you think I can?”

The other Ravenclaws and Gryffindors were gaping and rumors were going to be started like crazy, Albus could already hear them ringing in his ears. Madame Jordan took in Lavender’s worried face and smiled reassuringly, a competitive light entering her eyes as she replied. “Of course! I’ll arrange something for you.”

Lavender spluttered. “I don’t know—”

The instructor overrode her easily and Albus grinned supportively. “You’re going to do great things and with friends like the ones _you’ve_ got—” Madame Jordan heaved a sigh as she managed to pick Sally Creevey up into her arms, “you’ll need all the luck you can get.”

Albus frowned but was too joyful and happy for her to care about being a Misfit.

At least for now.

 

 


	10. Wolfsbane and Fame

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Albus and his two Misfit friends return to normal (By which of course creating chaos) life at Hogwarts with more news than they can handle. With Lavender gaining some fame and overhearing something about Zabini, the Misfits may be in more trouble than they could have ever imagined.

The news that Lavender Patil (Misfit and oddity extraordinaire) had saved Sally Creevey (Know-it-all and hag) from a near five million foot drop while evading Muggle helicopters, dragons and meteorites (Elliot Thomas was spreading this rumor with Chris Finnegan) lasted for the remainder of that Friday and most of the next week. Albus would have enjoyed basking in this very good news but he was quickly faced with his usual mistakes as he suffered through Hogwarts.

Apparently, he _didn’t_ get better with time and he realized this fact when he had made black panties (That had been far too sexy in his opinion) in Transfiguration, watched Scorpious nearly blow up the whole Charms room and receive the usual bullying from various students.

Gryffindor House still hadn’t forgiven them of course for the Sorting Hat disaster and even Lavender’s brief fame couldn’t stop the sneers and the heckling from their own fellow classmates.

Albus could hardly wait for the holidays and even though he had a spanking waiting for him by his mother and endless teasing to look forward to from his many cousins, anything was better than this. The weather was turning colder as well and he, Scorpious and Lavender found themselves darting from class to class as if a monster were on their tails, though each room was colder than the last.

In Potions, it was sheer torture since it was located in the dungeons. And when they worked on their poisons, antidotes and tonics, many noses were dribbling with snot and Albus’s tended to dangle tantalizingly towards his lower lip.

Zabini was the only one not finding the shivering mass of students worrisome and Albus had seen him on more than one occasion during this week casually floating between stations, sending his stain everywhere.

He hadn’t warmed up to Albus and Scorpious at all and he knew that he had enjoyed having the two of them cleaning up the girl’s lavatory with Rose (For their last detention for beating up Smith) far too amusing.

He had even gone on to tell the rest of their Potions class about it, causing many laughs and Albus was more than certain that if Zabini weren’t some sort of monster then they had sorely miscalculated. While Albus was still sure that he was wandering into the Forbidden Forest late at night, Zabini’s weary face and the strange bit of mud on his robes could be accounted to burying students as well.

They didn’t know much about vampires or werewolves really and Rose had come up to him in the corridor to complain that they had banned those sorts of books. It would only be possible to get them from the restricted section and they’d have to have a pass for that and so far, his cousin hadn’t been able to get one, no matter if she was a good student.

Lavender read from the moldy book that she had borrowed from Rose and Sue Corner nearly every night to make up for this though. It was filled with many things about various monsters and she busied herself with that while Albus and Scorpious thought of ridiculous ways of getting into Zabini’s room.

They’d even come up with a silly conversation that had involved tying Sue Corner onto his calves so he could walk around with her until they found out.

Though Albus rather liked that idea, Rose had been furious by the very mention of it when Scorpious had stupidly voiced it out to her. And Sue Corner had pushed Albus down the stairs, where Roxanne Weasley had caught him once again.

Scorpious was so in love with her that he had hardly paid Albus’s embarrassment any attention. But Lavender had simpered over him for a while and that had been rather nice until James had teased him about it.

But now, he was walking down the corridor with the two of them on a bitterly cold Thursday morning for breakfast and hearing them involved in a furious row. “That thing nearly bit my hand off!” Scorpious was complaining.

Lavender was frowning at him as Albus yawned loudly. “I _told_ you not to put your finger into his bowl! Sheriff is very shy and you were making fun of his other head so of _course_ he took a bite out of you!” she snapped.

Sheriff was her monstrous two-headed piranha that she had shown the boys a while go in the forbidden sanctuary known as the girls’ dorm. While Albus had been looking around in complete fascination and horror at so many girly things, Scorpious had gone over to the monster’s tank, making fun of the fact that it had two heads.

When he had reached in to poke and torment the creature properly, Albus had heard him screaming that his fingers were missing. “I could have lost my fingers!” Scorpious spat.

Albus broke in dryly. “All he did was nip you!”

Scorpious flushed in annoyance. “So you’re on _her_ side?” he demanded furiously and Lavender rolled her eyes, frowning up at him. Albus was quite used to his friends’ moods by this point but they were rather hard to deal with so early in the morning, “I had to get a bandage and everything!”

Albus blinked in obvious amusement as Scorpious waved his hand in front of his face, showing off a wrapped finger or two. Madame Brown had just done it to calm him down and he’d gotten a very big lollipop for the sheer agony of it, “You’re being stupid! It’s not like you had to get your bones regrown. My dad had to have that done when he was here, you know.”

Scorpious huffed indignantly and Albus smacked his hand away before listening to him going on to Lavender. “And you didn’t even apologize _or_ kiss the wound!” that had her blushing, “you could have at least tended to my bedside and made sure I didn’t bleed out!”

“ _Now_ you’re being ridiculous!” Lavender cried, eyes going wide as Albus roared with laughter. They passed by a group of seventh years that were blocking the corridor and had to squeeze their way through, much to their aggravation, “I have no idea where your fingers have been!”

Scorpious took offense to that and Albus didn’t want to mention that he had seen him handling his dirty socks earlier. “You make it sound like I’ve been going around digging in my a—”

Albus interrupted his remark as they came closer to the Great Hall, seeing a grouping of students staring at a sign on the corridor wall. They were all chattering excitedly together and he recognized Elliot Thomas and Samantha Jordan in the crowd and asked, “What’re you think they’re all doing?”

Lavender was having her face smashed so he couldn’t quite make out her reply but Scorpious answered distractedly. “Probably nothing,” but Albus smacked him away from her and walked over, curious to know what was going on, “maybe they’re announcing that Weasley is going to another school,” he said hopefully.

Albus gave him a look for that but was too busy jostling his way into the crowd for a good look at what was so important. A fourth year girl glared at him as he accidentally touched her butt and he spluttered an apology, “I didn’t do it on purpose!” he cried, blushing furiously as the girl stomped off in a huff.

“Did you get a good feel?” Scorpious’s voice questioned eagerly as he and Lavender managed to squeeze up to the crowd on either side of him. Albus blushed all the harder and his friend roared with laughter, “Didn’t you say you touched Corner’s boob?”

Albus could still feel his hand dancing with spiders at the memory and he glared at him while Lavender looked embarrassed. “She didn’t have anything _there_ for her to still be mad about it! You know, I think she’s trying to kill me because she’s always trying to push me down stairs!” he cried furiously and Scorpious laughed.

Lavender ignored this exchange, as she didn’t care for Sue Corner and got their attention by saying. “There’s something I think you two should look at.” And Albus stopped trying to punch Scorpious to remember what he had come over here for.

The other students around them were still chattering excitedly but he took a moment to clear his head before reading the sign in front of him and hearing Scorpious let out a foul, nasty curse as he read:

 

_**Attention!** _

 

_**Due to the events that have been reported in the Daily Prophet, it has been decided by our Headmistress and fellow teachers that a Dueling Club be formed for the first and second years in each House. All students must report to the fifth floor Muggle Studies classroom this weekend at noon to begin their lessons that will last for three hours instead of the five that Professor Smith originally designed.** _

_**These classes are to be taken seriously and any rough-housing or bullying will be handled swiftly with fifty points being removed and a detention from Professor Zabini. The Dueling Club is scheduled to last until the holidays and by then, we’re all hoping that the terrible news being reported from the Ministry is over and you can enjoy the remainder of your year in peace.** _

 

_**Sincerely,** _

 

_**Your Headmistress** _

 

 

“I can’t wait!” Elliot Thomas was saying enthusiastically to Samantha Jordan as they stood behind the Misfits. “It’s all because of those murders in the Prophet that they’re letting us have this! I bet we’ll learn so much!”

Samantha Jordan sounded just as excited and Albus wondered if she were really trying to yell in his ear or was used to shouting her emotions. “Maybe they’ll have an Auror there too! Oi, Potter—” she said now, yanking on Albus’s robes and nearly having his head jerk back into her face.

“ _What_? Let go, would you?” Albus snapped while fending her off irritably and she frowned at him, as if he had been the one being rude. Lavender was rereading the notice but Scorpious was kicking at the wall and growling to himself like a feral wolf.

Samantha thought about what she was about to say before asking. “Is your dad going to be there? He will be right? He’s an Auror!”

Albus didn’t think that his father would have the time to come here to school but he hadn’t asked. He had been too busy with other things to even recall the Dueling Club and was briefly surprised that it was happening at all, “I dunno. He’s working on the case so he might not have the time—”

“ _That’s_ really disappointing, Potter. Bet you’re looking forward to it, Malfoy?” a sneering voice asked and the group turned to see Goyle walking up with some of his mean-looking friends.

By now, the group of students had dispersed a little to get into the Great Hall, chatting animatedly but there were still enough around to scent a fight. Albus felt a burst of anger and weariness and said, “Looking pretty tough for someone that got beaten up by a girl,” that had some people laughing.

Goyle’s face flushed with ugly red color and because he had called Scorpious’s step-mum that nasty word, there was a rumor that his detention with Zabini had involved having his soul sucked out. Albus had been able to see him flinching whenever the man had walked near him all week, “That was just luck and no one gets lucky twice.”

“It’s going to take more than luck for me not to hex you if you don’t leave us alone,” Scorpious said and Lavender’s face had turned dark and thoughtful. Albus wondered if she would blast Goyle but he listened to his blonde friend snap, “Go bother someone else, would you?”

Goyle angled his head at Scorpious and sneered a bit until Albus thought that he was looking at a very ugly statue. He held his friend back when he made to throttle him, though it earned him a sharp elbow in the ribs, “Scared, Malfoy? Daddy won’t be able to save you in the Club you know and princes don’t get special treatment.”

Albus heard some students whispering and murmuring after these words but he frowned angrily. The nasty thought that Scorpious’s grandfather and several others thought that he would lead purebloods back into dominance for Voldemort hadn’t been discussed since his friend had revealed it. But he now saw his cheeks flushing with anger and shame, “He isn’t a prince and you’re not going to be acting so brave once we’re there in the Club so you can stop trying to sound so bloody confident,” he said now.

“Coming from you, that’s a compliment! You can’t do anything right, can you Potter?” Goyle asked nastily and his friends snickered. Albus flushed with embarrassment as the boy continued, “Your dads not going to be able to solve this case and no one will act like he’s anything important after this,”

Albus felt a rush of fury at his nerve to say something negative about his father and he took out his wand, intending to do his own harm. “He isn’t worth it!” Lavender cried just then and Goyle took his mean little eyes off his face and visibly flinched at the sight of her, “bullies like him can’t fight when they really _need_ to, don’t play his game,”

Though her words were true, Scorpious was taking out his wand regardless and stabbing Goyle in his chest with the tip of it. Sparks were shooting out and Albus heard him threaten, “You’re a Death Eater kid too and that thing out there doesn’t pick and choose, you’re in as much danger as the rest of us!”

That really had the onlookers whispering and Goyle’s face paled a little before he smacked Scorpious’s wrist back. Albus saw Lavender grab him by the back of his robes to keep him from attacking, “You’ll get yours before I get mine, Malfoy. And then what’s daddy gonna do?” Goyle sneered before he and his friends started walking off, shoving people out of their way.

Albus was so angry that he aimed his wand at the back of his head and Professor Chang’s voice was the only thing that stopped him. “I had better not see you fire a spell at that boy, Potter!” she snapped.

He turned to see her coming up with Professor McMillan, the two of them looking as if they had come out of a deep conversation. The Bloody Baron and the Fat Friar appeared moments later through a wall, startling a few second year girls as they headed into the Great Hall, chatting, “He was bullying my friend!”

Professor Chang frowned down at him disapprovingly. “Regardless, Mr. Potter, fighting doesn’t solve everything.” She scolded and Albus wanted to tell her that it could help out very much and Scorpious muttered furiously under his breath. “What was the argument about that you had to use your wand?”

Albus shot his friends a look and Scorpious turned his nose up at the teachers defiantly, refusing to speak of the altercation. Lavender spoke up shyly, “He was talking about the Dueling Club. He thinks that he’ll beat us up,” this was pretty much the truth, though she had thankfully omitted Goyle’s sneering reference to Scorpious as a prince.

Professor Chang actually laughed and Professor McMillan gave Albus a bit of a wink before he reminded. “I’m pretty sure that Goyle won’t be the one claiming victory in a fight with you, Patil.” And that had Lavender smiling weakly, “the thing to do with bullies is to prove them wrong.”

Scorpious spoke up and he sounded simply enraged by the advice and Albus didn’t have to look at him to see his cheeks were flushed. “I’d _rather_ beat someone up, if you don’t mind!”

Professor Chang gave him a weary look and Professor McMillan actually seemed to be considering his words as if he agreed. Albus thought that he would say something but he didn’t as his Transfiguration teacher fussed, “I’d _think_ that you three,” she pointed at Scorpious and Lavender before going back to him with a frown, “would have had enough to do with trouble.”

“Goyle started it!” Albus and Scorpious cried indignantly.

Lavender asked worriedly while the onlookers preened their ears for every single word that they exchanged, hoping for interesting bits. “Are you going to take points?” she still had more detentions for supposedly stealing the Sorting Hat on her plate and Albus couldn’t imagine them getting into any more trouble, not when they all still had a detention for that to look forward to.

Professor McMillan murmured. “I don’t know if _there_ are still points for Gryffindor to be taken—” Professor Chang shot him a look and he looked away, as if finding the corridor wall highly fascinating.

After glaring at him and watching the guilty expressions spread over their faces, Professor Chang said firmly, a frown on her face. “There will be no points taken, Ms. Patil. I’ll handle Goyle by contacting Professor Zabini,”

Professor McMillan ran a hand through his blonde hair and gasped with true horror, turning back to her with a gawping mouth. “Cho, that’s a little far. You don’t want to _kill_ the boy,” and Albus could hardly care what happened to Goyle just then even as he imagined Zabini boiling him in oil, “you heard what Blaise would do to him if he got one more complaint—”

“Well.” Professor Chang said uneasily while straightening out her robes and making Albus think that Professor Zabini even unsettled the teachers. “Blaise has a rather macabre sense of humor but I _will_ be writing to that boy’s father and taking a few points from Slytherin—what are you all gawking over here for? Get into the Great Hall and enjoy your breakfast, shoo!” she said while pushing at a few students who were listening to her every word.

They grumpily did as they were told and Albus was turning to his friends when Professor McMillan said to her. “We should enjoy our breakfast you know, I’m starving. You three—go eat, go on,” he commanded playfully to the three of them.

Albus and his friends scuttled away and he wasn’t surprised to hear Scorpious muttering to himself and ignoring them both. The fact that Rose and Sue Corner spotted them and started coming over didn’t improve matters and he said firmly, “Don’t start a fight with her,” but Scorpious was too busy glowering to listen.

Rose and her friend were looking almost eerily curious as they trooped up and Albus recoiled from it. His cousin’s eyes were burning, “What is this I hear about you three getting into fights?”

“Good morning to you too, Rose.” Albus said dryly and Scorpious glared at her until she balked and took a step back. Lavender said her hellos and Sue Corner merely raised her upper lip in greeting, “we weren’t fighting anyone. That was Goyle who came over bothering us.”

Rose frowned severely at the mention of his name and he couldn’t blame her for looking as if she might hex him herself. “Obviously, he has nothing better to do! What did he want?” she demanded.

Scorpious snapped. “Don’t you have somewhere else to be?”

Albus ignored him even as Rose turned pink with haughty rage. “He was making fun of us about the Dueling Club, they’re going through with it after all you know,” his cousin and her friend didn’t look all that concerned, “he thinks he’s going to beat us up or something.”

Lavender pursed her lips. “He’s just a sore loser.” And Albus laughed because he was suspecting that this was very true since he had looked at her with pure fright, “but we didn’t get into a fight.”

“That’s good Patil because we can’t have you all getting a detention when we have so much to do.” Rose said and Scorpious groaned in aggravation and she turned on him hotly. “You want to figure out what’s going on as much as us, don’t you?”

Scorpious gave her a cool glance that had Albus wondering if they would eventually come to blows someday. “Wouldn’t you, Weasley? But you don’t have to worry about being murdered do you?” he sneered.

Rose blushed a bit. “No, but I’m helping even though I don’t like you, Malfoy so you could show a bit of appreciation.” Scorpious looked as if he might wring her neck and Albus yanked him back, “and I have some news on that matter.”

Albus released his friend and watched Scorpious send Sue Corner a scathing look as he caught her raking Lavender with apparent dislike. Their friend returned it, “What is it?” he asked Rose while Lavender and Sue appraised one another icily.

“I asked Lorcan Lovegood—” Rose started.

Scorpious interrupted. “Who?”

Rose impatiently responded. “Our Aunt Luna’s son, he’s a Slytherin and his brother is in Ravenclaw with us.” She said, waving her hand at Sue Corner. Albus could hear her faint pride in the words and was a bit glad that she was all right with not being a Gryffindor, “anyway, Malfoy, I asked him if he knew where Zabini’s room might be.”

“And what did you find out?” Lavender asked.

Sue Corner finally spoke and she seemed simply infuriated by something and Albus had a feeling that Lorcan Lovegood hadn’t been much help. “Nothing really, except for his vague mumbling and jumbling, he’s such an odd one.”

“And you’re so charming that I can’t imagine why he didn’t answer your questions.” Scorpious shot back and Lavender and Albus laughed. Sue did not and narrowed her eyes warningly on him, “so what did he say?”

Rose looked simply exasperated with him and Albus had to laugh at her expression even though she looked eerily like her mother. “He said that Zabini doesn’t share their dormitory with them even though he’s their Head of House. Now why wouldn’t he want to do that?”

Albus supplied helpfully. “Cause he doesn’t like any living thing.”

Lavender said, “It’s his chronic constipation. He’s embarrassed,”

Scorpious shrugged lazily, adding. “He’s burying victims elsewhere.”

Rose and her friend exchanged looks, “No wonder you three are friends.” Sue Corner said distastefully before she crossed her arms over her nonexistent chest, which had Scorpious nudging him sharply in the ribs, “Lovegood did say that he probably has a room somewhere in the school,”

“What about the Potions dungeon?” Lavender asked and Albus thought that this was a very smart question. He hadn’t even considered it, “he is the Potions Master, so maybe he likes to stay close to what he does like.”

“There aren’t any graveyards or pools of blood in there, Lav.” Scorpious said seriously and Albus roared with laughter. Rose and Sue rolled their eyes, “I haven’t seen a door or anything in there and if it was in there, don’t you think someone would have found it by now?”

That was also a good point before Rose piped up importantly. “It might be hidden with a secret door. Maybe there’s a password we have to know,” she said and Albus wasn’t sure how they were going to figure that one out, “or it’s hidden behind the shelves. Why didn’t I think of that sooner?” she asked out loud, frowning.

Scorpious opened his mouth to say something rather rude but Lavender then turned her attention onto him by tugging on his sleeve. “What?” he asked irritably.

“You have a brother don’t you?” Lavender questioned as he pinched her nose until Albus smacked his hand away. “Was he a Slytherin?”

Scorpious suddenly looked very uncomfortable and Albus knew that he didn’t like his brother and would rather pretend he didn’t have one. “Yeah…so?” was his reluctant reply and they all gave him an impatient look, “what? He’s barely ever home!”

“You should have told us!” Sue Corner snapped.

Albus asked him. “Why don’t you like your brother? I mean, isn’t he in danger too because of all of this?” he hadn’t worried about this until now but the thought was rather unsettling. Lavender frowned too, “hasn’t he written to you or something?”

Scorpious threw his hands up in the air in pure aggravation and Albus wondered if he was going to go into a tantrum. Instead, he lowered his arms and shot Rose a vicious look as if she had done something to him and she flinched, “I don’t talk to Benjamin if I don’t have to and he’s been so busy leaving his stain everywhere that he doesn’t ever write.”

Lavender asked him. “Is your brother very mean?”

Albus tried to imagine what Benjamin Malfoy was like and somehow wound him shuddering with horror. If he were anything like Scorpious then he was something to be feared and he heard his moody blonde friend snarl, “Benjamin is just Benjamin! There’s no word for what he is! Anyway, he works at the Ministry and might be too busy,”

“But you can write to him anyway! I wrote my mum ages ago about what we thought was happening!” Rose proclaimed furiously and Albus knew that she was rather upset that she hadn’t gotten the response she’d wanted. “She told me to mind my studies!”

Sue Corner shook her head as if she couldn’t quite comprehend his Aunt Hermione and Albus felt a sense of unease grip him. “So that means that something is going on that they don’t want us to know about.”

“We’re only eleven. They might think it’s best for us not to know.” Lavender responded calmly, though there was a slight frown marring her brow. “If there is a vampire or a werewolf sneaking information out of there, I’m sure they wouldn’t want the public to know.”

Albus didn’t like that thought and he was rather annoyed that his father and Uncle Ron still hadn’t told him how the case was going. He could have asked Professor Longbottom too but he was too busy being disappointed about Gryffindor’s House points to pay him much attention, “Do you think it’s all getting worse then?” he didn’t want to worry Scorpious but it had to be said.

“Maybe. We have to find out what Zabini is up to and fast,” Rose said firmly and she nodded to herself, as if coming to terms with something. “I looked up a bit more about that Wolfsbane herb Patil told us about and the book I had said that while people do believe it can cure werewolf bites, it can also be a powerful poison.”

“Zabini is Potions teacher so of course—” Lavender intervened.

Sue Corner overrode her. “What if he’s trying to poison the kids that are here at the school?”

“We’re jumping to conclusions! We don’t know that. Let’s just, calm down and figure out what he’s really up to first before worrying about all that,” Albus said as he held up his hands to fend them off. His mind was trying to go blank with shock, “Scorpious, you ask your brother if he knows how to get into Zabini’s room and on Halloween, we’ll sneak in, find something and get out.”

Albus wasn’t too eager for this latest idea at all and the others were looking rather grim and before he could say much more, he heard a girlish squeal. “What the heck was that?” Scorpious asked in alarm.

The sound had come from the Gryffindor table and Albus was startled to see that they had been talking so long that they’d missed the mail. “Let’s go see,” he said to the others and the five of them walked down, seeing large clumps of people hanging over something, chattering breaking out.

Another squeal tore through the air and the other House tables were abuzz with curiosity and Albus had to shove Chris Finnegan aside rather roughly to see his brother and Mason, who’d been the one squealing swooning with lust. “What’s going on?” Albus asked, panting.

James had the back of his hand pressed against his forehead dramatically and Albus thought he looked rather ridiculous. All he needed was a sunset, “Where have you been all my life Patil?” he demanded out of Lavender, coming up and smothering her in an enthusiastic hug.

Lavender blushed and stammered. “Uhm, thank you Other Albus!” she said in confusion while Scorpious pushed and shoved at James with all his might, completely furious at his nerve.

Albus watched his brother release her, though he pushed at Scorpious as if he was a doll and he saw his friend nearly lose his footing. “What is that?” Rose asked now as she peered on the table between Chris Finnegan and Elliot Thomas, “it looks like a broom.”

That had Scorpious’s attention and Sue Corner peeked over Rose’s shoulder as they all caught sight of the most amazing broom in creation. Albus had only seen pictures of the Neon Star in Quidditch Weekly but up close, its sheer majesty was almost indescribable and his jaw dropped as he took in the missing wrapping paper. “Thanks for opening it for her, James,” he said dryly.

“I couldn’t help it!” James protested indignantly.

Lavender squirmed closer to take a peek at the gleaming piece of wood on the table. Whispers were breaking out among the other Gryffindors, “Is this for me, then?” she asked in shy awe.

“There’s a note!” Mason said as he extracted a small card from the wrapping and Albus shot him a look. “You’re going to be on the Quidditch team, Patil!”

Scorpious crowed with triumph. “Hear that chipmunk?!” he snapped because Sally Creevey was gawping rather rudely behind Samantha Jordan and her face was rather pale. It made her look like a ghost, “this is what you get for being a show off!”

“Shut up, Malfoy!” Sally screamed.

Lavender took the card from Mason and Albus and Scorpious looked on either side of her so they could read it too:

 

_**Dear Ms. Patil,** _

 

_**It took longer than what I thought but I finally bothered McGonagall so much that she allowed me to talk her into letting you play on the Quidditch team! Victoire Weasley will be waiting for you on the pitch this weekend and I’d advise not bringing your Misfit friends, you need all the luck you can get.** _

 

_**Cheers,** _

 

_**Alicia Jordan (Madame Jordan to you all)** _

 

“I-I don’t know what to say!” Lavender cried embarrassingly and Albus hugged her just as Scorpious did and their heads banged together. Cursing fluently at the pain and ignoring the laughter that followed from everyone else, he heard her say, “I’d better take this up to the Tower!”

Rose was gawping rather rudely as Lavender shakily wrapped her gift back, much to the disappointment of Mason and James and said. “But that’s not allowed!” and Scorpious shot her a mean look, “shut up!” she snapped.

Albus offered happily, “We’ll walk with you back to the Tower, Lav,” he wanted to take another look at the Neon Star. His father would be very happy about this because Oliver Wood had made it himself, and his brooms were the best in the entire world.

As they disentangled themselves from the crowd, he noticed that Sue Corner was looking towards the staff table. Albus looked as well and saw that Professor Longbottom and Zabini were gone and while that was unsettling, he ignored it and caught up with Lavender and Scorpious as they quickly filed out of the Hall.

By the time that he caught up, his moody blonde friend was bragging. “You’ll be the best on the team, Lav! I’m going to write my dad and my mum and maybe even my step-mum and tell them all about this!”

“You mean _her_ , right?” Albus wheezed as he trotted beside Lavender. She was holding the Neon Star closely to her chest and she looked as if she might cry with happiness and he didn’t blame her for it.

Scorpious had always referred to some of his letters by saying “her” but he now shook his head. “No, that’s just my grandma. She has too many expectations for me,” he said dismissively and Albus wondered if she were as strange as his grandfather.

Lavender was giving him a concerned glance. “She doesn’t like that your dad is with your step-mum, does she?’ she questioned gently.

Scorpious pinched her cheek as if she had insulted him greatly but it was true from the shameful blush on his own face. “No, she doesn’t. My grandparents live with us now but they usually leave on holiday to visit their own friends but they celebrate with us sometimes.”

Albus had a feeling that living at the Malfoy home wasn’t all too pleasant sometimes. “She doesn’t call you a prince or anything does she?” he asked carefully to his friend.

“No but she can be really annoying. All she does is go on about Benjamin and how I have to live up to the family name and all that drivel,” Scorpious said with a shrug, expressing his sheer dislike.

Lavender replied kindly. “I’m sure that you’ll be just fine being yourself Scorpious” she said it in a teasing way, as if that were a problem and he gave her a look while Albus laughed.

“Think you’re super cool now that you got that Neon Star?” Scorpious asked sharply, though he was grinning. “You’re going to be the best Chaser on the team, Lav, no one has a Neon Star.”

Albus nodded in agreement and he was pretty sure that the school brooms were still those old Firebolts and those horrible Nimbus two thousands. When his dad had been here, those had been some of the best brooms in the world and he wondered how he would feel if he bought him a Neon Star for his birthday, “And my cousin Victoire is the captain on the team and she’s really nice. She won’t be mean to you.”

Lavender looked very relieved by this and gave them both a happy smile, becoming her airy self with almost miraculous speed. “Madame Jordan has been too nice getting me on the team! I’ll have to do my best.”

“You’d better Lav, or we won’t talk to you anymore.” Scorpious said seriously and Lavender gawped in horror at this lie.

While Scorpious amused himself with her reaction, Albus decided that he would write to his mum and sister as well about her success. And then he would write Freddie and Teddy Lupin to brag about how amazing his friend was and they’d all be so jealous of him.

“I can’t wait to tell Angelina.” Lavender was saying now, mentioning her older sister with a happy smile. Scorpious’s teasing had finally ended from the pleased expression on his face, “she’ll be so proud of me and I have to tell Aunt Lav—”

“Who’s that?” the boys asked.

Lavender blinked owlishly. “Oh, that’s the lady I’m named after. Madame Brown,” she clarified and they were very startled by this. “She was my mum’s best friend in school and almost died at the Battle. They’re still very close.”

Albus had been too annoyed with Scorpious to go with him to see her to get his “wounded” fingers looked at. “She’s really nice,” he heard his blonde friend say and Lavender beamed at him, “so I guess you see her a lot,”

“Yes. She doesn’t have any babies of her own so she gives me things all the time!” Lavender seemed very pleased by this and Albus had a feeling that she rather liked her mother’s friend more than she liked her own mother. “I wouldn’t mind seeing her at Christmas but the house is going to be so busy, with all my sisters.”

Albus thought that the Burrow, his grandparent’s home would be very crowded as well when he went over. But his Grandma Molly would give him warm hugs and kisses and make sure he was fattened up rather nice and he was really looking forward to it, “You two can come round my place and you can meet all my family.”

Scorpious was looking very pleased about this and Lavender started skipping down the corridor ahead of them. “Will Roxanne be there?” he asked casually and Albus laughed, “She’s dating my brother but she _should_ be going out with me. I’m her true love.” He said dramatically and he snorted with more laughter.

“Err, sure you are, Scorpious. She’ll be there and so will all my other cousins and my aunts,” Albus said as he imagined his friend skipping through wildflowers with his much older cousin. The image nearly had him doubling over but Scorpious was looking very ecstatic, “and you can meet my mum and dad too.”

Scorpious came out of his own thoughts at those last words and Albus didn’t think he wanted to know what they’d been about. “I hope they like me,” was all that he said after a moment and before Albus could say anything to that and assure him that they would, they caught Lavender stopping dead still up ahead.

Wondering what was wrong; the boys rushed up to see and saw her peering slyly into a cracked doorway. Albus hoped that he wasn’t going to see any of their teachers locked in a passionate embrace but positioned himself beside her, Scorpious going on her other side and peered into what was obviously Filch’s domain.

It didn’t take a genius to explain who would have manacles and chains hanging up on his wall, freshly polished and Albus felt his stomach lurching.

The room was rather dark even though it was morning and Albus was pretty sure that the blinds were drawn, allowing for maximum secrecy.

Something rather interesting must have caught Lavender’s eye though for her to stop and take a listen, the Neon Star pressed anxiously to her chest. Albus decided that he would swallow his questions and peered into the crack in the doorway, Scorpious muttering a curse about their not being any space. With the three of them cramped together, it was impossible to get a good look inside the room without alerting the caretaker inside and Lavender shot Scorpious a firm look and he eventually quieted.

Filch, though was too busy talking to two figures in the far corner of the room and he appeared to be holding a bottle of something in his aged hands. “It’s a good thing you came to me about this Professor,” he was saying.

“I really had no choice, did I? I was getting blood everywhere. The centaurs are making it damned obvious that they don’t want me in their territory even though I have business to attend to.” Zabini’s cold, menacing voice said in return and the Misfits exchanged a quick look.

Lavender must have heard his voice, which was why she had stopped and Albus could have hugged her forever for being so smart.

“You’ve been going in there for so long that I didn’t think that they would ever bother you. We already explained what you were doing there,” Professor Longbottom’s voice rang out and Albus felt his jaw dropping.

His kind teacher could not be in league with that monster! Albus could barely hold in his curse and Lavender clamped a hand over his mouth as Zabini replied, “I can hardly blame them for attacking me. I surprised them quite by accident.”

“It’s too dangerous for you to be going in there alone for Wolfsbane, Blaise. I’ve offered my help on the matter,” Professor Longbottom said kindly.

Filch interrupted the exchange. “Now, show me where the arrow hit you, Professor. Those beasts can be mighty vicious, it’s a miracle you escaped,” he said and Albus heard a ghostly meow from his dead cat, which was seated on a cluttered desk.

“It’s nothing but a flesh wound. I’ve had far worse,” Zabini said icily but there was the sound of clothing being shifted and Albus wondered if he had a gaping wound in his chest that was spurting blood.

Lavender’s hand was still over his mouth but she slowly released him as Scorpious shoved his cheek onto hers for a closer look. She turned pink but he ignored her as Professor Longbottom said curtly, “You could have been seriously hurt, Blaise, you _are_ lucky to have made it out.”

Zabini sounded as if he was sneering and Filch was too busy tending to his wound to react to his obvious impatience. A moment later, Albus could hear a faint hiss of pain as the rag was applied, “I returned in one piece, Neville. This is the only time of year that the Wolfsbane is plentiful and I won’t waste my time,”

“You should at least ask someone for help. I didn’t want to disturb you at first but your wanderings might not leave you with a flesh wound the next time,” Professor Longbottom said in a hard voice that Albus had never heard before. “If you want a cure for werewolf bites, I’m sure that you’ll be able to find it with your skills. But you have to remember that you _are_ human,”

That had Zabini laughing derisively and it sent a chill up Albus’s back. Lavender was looking scared and Scorpious’s eyes appeared to have grown as large as saucers and he would have laughed if he weren’t so nervous, “The brats still think I’m a vampire you know.”

“They’ve been saying _that_ for years.” Professor Longbottom replied dryly but Albus could hear his heavy amusement, “if you were a tad friendlier, Blaise, those silly rumors would stop.”

Zabini snorted and the sound reminded Albus of a troll clearing its throat after eating a village of fine, plump maidens. It made his skin break out in a cold, nasty sort of sweat, “There’s nothing friendly about me, Neville.” He responded dryly and Professor Longbottom merely laughed in agreement.

Filch was now coming into clearer view, shuffling a little and Albus saw him taking a rag and a bottle with him towards his desk. The rag was covered in bright red blood, “That should do it for your wound, Professor. Might want to have Madame Brown take a closer look—”

“I don’t require any other assistance.” Zabini snarled and Albus felt the hairs on the back of his neck standing up before he heard the man saying to Professor Longbottom, “one little scrape isn’t going to stop _me_ from going into the Forest,”

“With all that’s going on out there right now with these murders Blaise, you should be a tad more careful.” Professor Longbottom said. “You never know what might happen out there.”

Zabini was silent for a while and Scorpious was wincing a little from squatting for so long and Albus’s eyes were hurting. Lavender was turning purple from holding her breath for so long, “I’ll be fine. Those murders will never reach Hogwarts— though I won’t expect them to be over for quite some time,” Professor Longbottom said something Albus couldn’t hear. “Since when does the Prophet ever relate the truth?”

“With so many Death Eater kids here, I would be a tad more worried Blaise. I’ve learned that you can never underestimate the darker things in the world,” Professor Longbottom said with a weary sigh.

Zabini said something after this but Albus didn’t quite catch it but it sounded like something rather foul. If he ever said something similar, his mother would bury him properly in the back garden, “Neville, does it look as if I’m afraid of the supposedly darker nature of things?”

Professor Longbottom actually laughed in heavy amusement and Albus could sense that Zabini could probably frighten an entire horde of demons. “That’s rather arrogant of you, Blaise. But you have other things that actually scare you, like letters from parents?”

“You know how much I detest children.” Zabini said stiffly.

Professor Longbottom didn’t even begin to tell him of the joys of having children in his life and Albus couldn’t imagine Zabini ever growing accustomed to the stench of youth and vitality. “Draco Malfoy has sent an owl to you hasn’t he, asking about his son. You promised that you would look after him didn’t you?”

This had Albus and his friends listening even harder and he waited for Zabini to respond and when he did, his tone was dark and filled with bitterness. “I merely promised because he owes me a slight favor and I’ve assured Draco that his son is fine. Rude, obnoxious and bratty but completely fine,”

Scorpious turned red with anger.

Albus shot him a warning look.

Lavender clamped a hand over his mouth.

Professor Longbottom let out an uncomfortable chuckle that Albus knew hadn’t reached his usually merry eyes. “I don’t think he’s that bad. He and Albus are good friends with Ms. Patil,”

Zabini sounded as if he were sneering. “Ah, yes. _Misfits_ …you wouldn’t find a more pathetic group if you tried.” He said distastefully and Albus and his friends frowned in heavy dislike, “Draco’s son is more of a pain in my (Scorpious fumed) than I would have thought possible, even more so than his father was.”

Professor Longbottom sounded more than a bit exasperated with his attitude and Albus couldn’t blame him. But he did have to give him credit for his patience, “You still haven’t forgiven him for back then, have you? Everyone was scared, Blaise, you can’t hold that over his head forever. A lot of people didn’t come back to fight,”

“ _I_ did and I don’t need my damn face in the papers to prove it either.” Zabini said dryly and Albus had a feeling that he was talking about his father and he wanted to let out a few foul curses of his own. “I’m not sure Potter will be able to handle this case, they have nothing to bring them closer to the truth.”

Professor Longbottom was keen now, as was Albus and he felt his friends pressing harder against the door now. One move and they would be found out but there was no way that they could leave without finding out what secrets Zabini was hiding and they all held their breath until he swore they resembled blueberries.

“And you somehow have the truth of what’s happening out there, Blaise? You should report it immediately to the Auror Department,” Professor Longbottom said with a trace of anger.

Zabini sounded just as angry. “I can’t be sure. I’m…looking up the information,” he fumbled for more words, sounding uncertain for the first time and Albus knew that he was lying. He had to be lying because he was working alongside that thing out there!

Albus knew that the answers that they had been waiting for were just a moment out of their grasp and would have been if Peeves had never came by, cackling madly and alerting them to his presence. “Oh, no,” he whispered.

The Poltergeist was doing a crude dance while wearing one of Albus’s panties (A very cute pair with little golden Snitches), and seemed to be going in the other direction before spotting the Misfits leaning precariously on the door.

Albus spat angrily at it, cursing their rotten luck. “Go away!” he hissed bitingly but the command only had the ghost’s eyes widening with mad delight.

“What’s this, what’s this?” the cretin asked and Albus gave him a pleading look but Peeves was crowing loudly just as Lavender and Scorpious both started to turn almost maroon from lack of oxygen. “MISFITS AT THE DOOR, MISFITS AT THE _DOOR_ —!” and gave the wood a mighty shove.

Scorpious let out a furious. “Son of a b—” as gravity took its toll and had the three of them falling in a tangled pile on the floor, the wind knocked out of them.

Albus banged his head and felt the taste of blood exploding in his mouth as his teeth rammed onto his tongue. But the pain was far more welcome than the terror that was going through him as his two friends gasped in agony because when he chanced a glance above him, Zabini was glaring viciously into his eyes and it was too late to run away.

 

 

 


	11. Smoke and Mirrors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Misfits are in a really tough spot and things are only made worse when Zabini gives them a hint of horrors yet to come. Needing help, Scorpious finally contacts his brother, Benjamin but the bad things waiting for them in the future leave the group feeling as if they've eaten a bad batch of Aunt Hermione's cookies (Which are always bad mind you)

A dark spot of blood dribbled from Albus’s mouth and the agonizing pain finally drew him away from Zabini’s fathomless dark eyes and he was able to clamp a hand over his lips. But the blood remained on the dusty floor and Albus waited for some sort of reaction from Zabini, some sort of animalistic growl to slip from his lips before he buried his fangs into his throat.

Instead, there was nothing but silence and that was somehow a lot worse. It left his stomach churning in the same way that it would have done if he had just finished eating one of Aunt Hermione’s green bean casseroles.

“Albus, are you all right?” Professor Longbottom asked, being the first of the adults to say a word. Filch had leapt back against his desk, looking startled and expecting far worse than three Hogwarts students lying on his floor but Zabini was, to make matters even more frightening….chillingly silent.

Scorpious and Lavender distracted Albus from saying anything as his blonde friend groaned. “Merlin, that piece of (Professor Longbottom shot him a look) ghost!” he was rubbing his forehead and sitting up, a large bump visible beneath his fingers.

Lavender was rubbing her jaw where Albus could see a bruise forming on her brown skin and he felt a wave of stupidity. If he had just told them that Peeves had been coming then they might have been able to slip away before the terror had pushed them but now…. “Albus, you’re bleeding!” the girl said, eyes wide as she turned towards him.

Scorpious looked indignant. “ _I’m_ hurt too you know!”

Professor Longbottom gave a weary sigh as Albus fended Lavender off from overreacting, not wanting to give Zabini the chance to sneer at him. “Would it even make sense for me to bother asking what you three thought you were doing?” their Herbology teacher asked gently.

Albus wanted to speak but his tongue was throbbing and Zabini was still staring at him, as if he wanted to rip his innards out and feed them to his hell hounds. He was almost positive that he had at least one that he fed students to, “I think he needs to go to the hospital wing, professor,” Lavender said worriedly as Scorpious grumbled and roughly stood up.

“That sounds like a good idea; the three of you took a nasty fall.” Professor Longbottom said with true concern. Albus shot a wary glance at Zabini, whose robes were still in disarray and his eyes shot warily to the wound in his shoulder, where the skin was swollen and red. “Blaise, you wouldn’t mind…?”

Zabini snapped out of his murderous thoughts and turned narrowed eyes on Professor Longbottom. “I’m assuming that you’re letting them go without punishment?” he asked nastily.

Lavender was dusting Albus’s robes off and Scorpious was moodily tugging on her hair until she turned and investigated the bump on his forehead. Leaving his moody blonde friend to look awfully pleased with himself, Albus caught Professor Longbottom’s strained words, “We can ask them later what they were up to. They’re from my House; I’ll take care of everything.”

Albus was _almost_ certain that he wouldn’t bury them.

Zabini made a motion with his hands as if he were going to wring Professor Lonbottom’s throat but stopped himself. Instead, he flung his hands into his robes, withdrew his wand and Albus had a horrible thought that he was going to turn them into bugs and squash them but instead, he flicked it over himself. Instantly, any evidence that he had been hurt or bleeding was gone, concealed perfectly just like the man himself, “I want them in my office after you’re through with them,”

“That won’t be necessary.” Professor Longbottom assured tightly. Albus could sense the tension between them and wondered if they would be asked what they had heard before Peeves had blown their cover. He couldn’t come up with a reason for them not to be expelled.

Zabini’s lip curled slowly, as if savoring some poor victim’s blood before he turned away. Albus had a feeling that he was trying to weigh his options, it was obvious that he didn’t like being told what to do, especially by a Gryffindor, “….I have too much on the line for this. Take care of the three of them and keep them out of my way if you know what’s _best_ ,” he snarled to Professor Longbottom before moving away.

Albus snatched Lavender away from Scorpious (Who was enjoying having some attention) before Zabini walked directly through them. “Are you going to take points?” he asked Professor Longbottom.

Before he could answer, Zabini turned as he flung the door open, which had slammed shut right after the three of them had fallen in. Albus felt the fine hairs on the back of his neck stand up and a chill grip him, “House points are the least of your worries Potter Jr. and fans,” he said this pointedly to Lavender and Scorpious, who shot him a very nasty look.

“What’s _that_ supposed to mean?” Scorpious snarled, flushing.

Lavender shot him a warning look.

Zabini tilted his head at him but Albus had a feeling that the dislike gripping him was coming from memories of Mr. Malfoy. It made his stomach knot with all that he had heard and what the creature might know that he wasn’t saying, “Now, why would I tell you something like that? Then it wouldn’t be a surprise.”

Professor Longbottom was frowning severely. “Blaise, that’s enough. I’m sure that this was all a misunderstanding.”

“It really was!” Albus cried hastily, the pain in his mouth forgotten.

Lavender nodded and because he had totally forgotten about it, he was surprised to see her grabbing her broomstick. It had fallen out of her hand when they’d hit the floor of course and Filch shot her a suspicious glance but she ignored him, “I-I wanted to show Professor Longbottom my new broomstick. I heard that Albus’s dad was on the Quidditch team when he was a first year and I thought he’d like to hear about me…maybe…” she faltered as Zabini’s upper lip curled with displeasure.

Professor Longbottom looked briefly distracted by the broom, whose wrappings were falling apart. “Is that a Neon Star, Patil? Best in the world—nonetheless,” he said hastily as Zabini looked like he meant to break it over his knee, “you could have waited until class—”

“I heard your voice and you’re my _favorite_ teacher! I thought you’d be happy for me,” Lavender said with such sincerity that Albus almost thought he saw angels swooning and a rainbow behind her head. Scorpious was looking at her with stunned silence, “I-I’m sorry,” she said earnestly.

Zabini looked truly sickened even as Filch was eyeing a pair of suspiciously shined manacles in the corner. Professor Longbottom was blushing a little, “This is precisely why I _despise_ children.” Albus heard him say and he was quite sure it had to do with dozens of babies crying whenever he walked by their cradles. “I won’t be made a fool of, Neville.”

“No one is making you out to be the fool, Blaise.” Professor Longbottom said severely, snapping out of his flattered reverie. “Just let me take care of this. I know how important it is to you to gather the Wolfsbane—”

“No.” Zabini said with startling severity. “ _No, you don’t_.”

Scorpious was giving him a dark look. “What do you need it for then? Why does it have to be such a secret?” he asked around a frown and Albus and Lavender shot him a glare.

Zabini’s back stiffened. “I’d watch that mouth if I were you.” And then, something struck him, as if he were recalling a tasty treat and Albus was wondering now if he had some sort of horrible punishment in store for them. Like scrubbing old lady’s feet with nothing but their bare hands and a bar of soap…“Especially after _I_ get through with you all,” the man said and with that, he gave them a sunny smile and departed, the door somehow closing silently behind him.

Albus was petrified.

There was no telling what he would do to the three of them once he got a chance to get them all alone and he then remembered that he had first period Potions. There were so many cauldrons in there! He was going to chop the three of them up and cook them…did he even taste good with the right seasonings?

His head was swimming with various thoughts of Lavender potpie, Scorpious stew and boiled Albus and potatoes that he hardly heard Professor Longbottom saying. “…..like to know what you thought you were doing—Albus are you even paying attention to me?”

Albus snapped out of his thoughts and was aware that Professor Longbottom was staring down at him. Apparently, while he’d been daydreaming, they’d been ushered out of Filch’s musty office and were now standing in the corridor, distant sounds of other students sounding like the echo of another world. “Erm, sorry?”

Professor Longbottom sighed and Lavender and Scorpious were appearing distracted or annoyed. He wasn’t able to tell, “Albus, this isn’t really the time to be spacing out.” He was told and he nodded, blushing, “what did you hear outside the door?”

“Nothing, just that Zabini said he thought he knew what was happening with the murders,” Lavender intervened and because that had been the last thing that they had heard before they’d fallen into the room, Albus breathed a sigh of relief. Scorpious’s shoulder’s relaxed, “we had just finished with breakfast and were going to find you and I heard your voice in Mr. Filch’s room,”

Professor Longbottom crossed his arms and regarded the three of them curiously, his eyes narrowed a little. Albus felt a bead of sweat beginning on his forehead and he hoped that it didn’t make him look that suspicious, just dirty, “I’m not really sure that I can believe that, Ms. Patil. With whatever that you heard outside of that door—I’m not even going to ask _why_ you were eavesdropping,” he said, sighing and looking very tired and a bit amused. “But I’m warning you now not to go snooping in places that are best left alone.”

“We won’t do it again,” Lavender murmured softly.

Which meant that yes; they were going to do it anyway.

Albus swallowed hard. “We’re just worried about Scorpious and Zabini hates us and we know that it’s bad.” He said to Professor Longbottom, “my dad won’t tell me what’s going on and Uncle Ron won’t either.”

There was a slight silence that was only broken up by the Bloody Baron popping out of a corridor wall and passing them by, brooding. After he was gone, Professor Longbottom said with more force than he had ever used with Albus before, “Your father and uncle are only trying to protect you. What’s happening out there isn’t something for children to be worrying about.”

Albus thought it was a low blow to remind him of that but he nodded and bowed his head a little. It was true that this was dangerous but if Zabini were the one behind it all then his family would be too late, Scorpious needed help now, “I know.” He said with so much feeling that Professor Longbottom briefly appeared sorry for him.

An awkward silence fell just then and his tongue chose that moment to sting with pain and Professor Longbottom inhaled, as if getting rid of the past few minutes. “All right, I won’t dock points for this you three but I’m going to be keeping my eyes on you. Come on, let’s get you to the hospital wing,” he started to usher them down the corridor, Albus’s mind still reeling with all that he had heard. “Anyway, Patil, tell me about that broom…”

X

 

If Albus had hoped that the day would go by smoother after such a disastrous start, he was horribly wrong. No sooner had he and his friends been patched up by Madame Brown and ushered back to class, did the day go through its normal rounds of destruction, embarrassment and catastrophe.

Luckily, they had missed their usual Potions class but Albus had felt that if they had even dared to have shown themselves, Zabini would have obliterated them with nothing but his essence. As worrying as that was, Professor Longbottom kept his promise and Albus and his friends barely had time to conspire their next move in Herbology when he had hovered around their stations.

They didn’t have time during the lesson to tell Rose or Sue Corner what had happened but Albus had seen his cousin shooting him suspicious looks over her Flailing Vines (These were nasty things that smacked you in the face if you tried to steal their fruit) but he’d hastily looked away.

And to make matters worse, there was so much homework from all of their classes, and he had a feeling that most of the teachers were trying to torture them properly before they became too distracted by the upcoming Halloween feast. Albus had never truly thought much about the Feast itself when he had heard so many stories about it from his cousins and parents but he felt a twisting in his stomach as he thought about what he and his strange little group were going to do then. If only Zabini weren’t so eerie and strange…if only some nutter weren’t going around killing Death Eater kids then perhaps his first year at Hogwarts wouldn’t have been so bad. But then Albus recalled that he and his two friends could hardly go down the corridor without something horrible happening (The three of them had run into a Shield Charm in the corridor that some older students had been playing around with) and he allowed the wistful thought to fade away.

Somehow though, even with their House table treating them like unworthy slime and Goyle sending threatening messages with his fingers at them during dinner, the Misfits enjoyed a decent dinner that night. If you could ignore the fact that Zabini was digging daggers into your skull, that is and by the time Albus and his friends managed to file out of the corridor while also avoiding Rose and Sue Corner, they were exhausted.

But there was too much homework to be ignored when they got into their Common Room and Lavender had steadfastly refused to let Albus and Scorpious mope around or play Exploding Snap. So instead, the three of them sitting at a study table and taking a look at the ridiculous pile of essays that they all had to do for Transfiguration and Charms.

Albus’s head hurt and he wasn’t quite sure how he was going to survive exams later on in the year. The other students were too busy laughing and joking and he could hear James serenading Mason Finnegan in the background but he didn’t bother trying to see what they were on about. They were probably still excited about Lavender’s broomstick but the noise was aggravating Louis the Prefect (He rarely paid much attention to him since he was such a prat) and he heard him bark, “Would you quiet down? Some people have studies to attend to!”

James said something back at him that would have gotten him a bar of soap in his mouth if their mother had heard but it shut Louis the Prefect up. Albus envied his brother’s carefree attitude but figured that if he somehow figured out what wand motion would cause his pineapple to turn into a hedgehog, he could have some fun to eventually.

Lavender on the other hand was trying to get Scorpious to do his own homework but he was in such a bad mood that it was impossible. Albus had given up a long time ago but was so accustomed to his moods that he barely paid his glowering and puppy kicking a glance, “You need to study you know!” his odd little friend was chastising.

Albus’s head was pounding and he wasn’t sure why he needed to know how to turn a pineapple into a hedgehog anyway. “What’s the point in doing my homework if Zabini is going to eat me?” Scorpious snapped at Lavender after a minute or two of her trying to get him started on his Charms paper.

“You’re _not_ going to get eaten. And if you do, we’ll get eaten with you, so stop being stupid,” Albus replied annoyingly, shooting him a glance.

Lavender nodded sternly, her brow furrowed. Her homework was arranged in a much neater pile around her and Albus was curious on how she was able to do it all without her head exploding from the stress, “I know we had a tough time today but you don’t have to be so mean, Scorpious. _We’re_ your friends.”

Scorpious opened his mouth as if he were going to say something really nasty but then seemed to think better of it. He ran a hand through his hair, frowning, “Didn’t you hear all that stuff Zabini was talking about?” he asked sharply.

“Of course I did,” Lavender replied calmly.

“And didn’t you _hear_ him saying how he knows what’s going on and hasn’t said anything?” Scorpious continued, staring at her as if she were stupid.

Albus didn’t think that that was necessary when Lavender had been the one to, once again, spare them their hides. Her Neon Star was up in her dorm, safely tucked underneath her bed and they’d continued to get compliments (And in one case Lavender had gotten some Hufflepuff boy’s address before Scorpious had chased him away) before it had become old news. “Stop being mean to Lavender. You’re not the only one who’s freaked out,”

Scorpious shot him a look but then sank further into his seat and crumpled a bit of parchment in his fist. Albus imagined that it was the same thing he would have wanted to do to Zabini if he could get the chance, “But _I’m_ the only one that’s being talked about behind my back.”

“No you’re not. Sally Creevey called Albus a dork last night,” Lavender replied with an apologetic look at Albus. He glanced over his shoulder at Sally and saw that she was whispering to Samantha Jordan and pointing in their direction, “Just ignore her. She’s just still mad that I might get on the Quidditch team,”

Scorpious glared over at the girls and tossed his parchment at them. It barely missed and instead of hitting Sally or Samantha, it smacked James in the face as he was trying to put his wand up Mason’s nose (He had finished singing to him a while ago), “Chipmunk,” he muttered before turning the conversation back. “Well, no one’s dad owes a favor to a vampire.”

This was true. Albus had been wondering about what his father might have owed to Zabini, aside from his immortal soul that is, and he hadn’t come up with much. “For all we know, someone out there does, Zabini is pretty mean.” He said reasonably and his friends had to nod at that. “Maybe your dad is just worried about you.”

“Worried?” Scorpious snorted but a guilty flush spread into his cheeks at the thought that his father was worrying about him so much. “He could have asked another teacher to look out for me. Why’d it have to be _Zabini_? He hates me,” he scowled while pulling on Lavender’s hair to emphasize his point. She swatted at him until he let her go, “but at least we know for sure that he’s going into the Forest for Wolfsbane.”

Albus nodded and then asked aloud. “But why would Professor Longbottom know about it too?” if he were in league with him, it would just be too impossible to believe and he shook his head of that thought. There was no way, “what do you think he needs it for if it’s supposed to be this poison?”

“Some people say it can cure werewolf bites.” Lavender supplied helpfully as she looked over some of her homework. Albus hoped she’d let him cheat off of her, “I don’t think he’s trying to poison any of us but you never know, he’s awfully mean.”

“And constipated,” Scorpious said and Albus laughed.

Lavender smiled for a moment before sobering thoughtfully. “The only thing we can say for sure is that he’s getting the Wolfsbane. When we go and find his room on Halloween, we’ll know for sure what he’s up to— he has to have some notes or something that we can look at.”

Albus hoped that it would be that easy but his stomach was knotting in that horrible way when he was offered some of Aunt Hermione’s homemade cookies. It was not going to go the way they thought but he pushed it aside hastily, “We still have to figure out what we’re going to do on Halloween with Rose and Corner.”

Scorpious rolled his eyes.

Lavender nodded. “We should tell them about what we heard later. I’m surprised they haven’t come in yet,” she said while looking towards the portrait hole. Albus didn’t want to feel relieved but he was, “they probably had someone else to bother.”

“Nice, Lav,” Scorpious said with a laugh and she shrugged. “You don’t like Weasley do you?” he asked curiously and Albus frowned.

“I like Weasley just fine, she’s very nice but that Corner girl…I can understand why _you_ two don’t get along,” Lavender said slyly and Albus sent her a grin, wondering why she enjoyed teasing Scorpious so much.

Scorpious frowned. “What’s _that_ supposed to mean?”

Lavender shrugged secretively. “It’s nothing, I’m sure you’ll figure it out for yourself.” Scorpious glowered at her and looked as if he might reach over and pinch her face but Albus shook his head at him firmly and he reluctantly kept his hands to himself, looking annoyed. “But for right now, we have the Dueling Club to worry about.” Zabini would be the one there and with Smith heading the lesson, Albus knew that it was not going to be a pleasant experience. If he weren’t worried about Professor Longbottom, he might have felt a bit more relief, “but we’re going to have to be careful about who we talk to and where we do it.”

“So that means I don’t have to talk to my prat of a brother?” Scorpious asked hopefully and with all that had happened, Albus had almost forgotten about the mysterious figure that was Benjamin Malfoy. Lavender frowned, “ _Fine_ , I’ll write him but that doesn’t mean he’ll answer!” he snapped.

Albus wondered what he hated so much about his brother just as James tossed a bit of garbage at his head from the other side of the room. “Git!” he snapped back as he flung bits of gum wrappers out of his hair before turning to his friends and watching Scorpious furiously scribbling on a bit of parchment (That looked suspiciously like his Transfiguration homework), “so you’ll ask him if he knows where Zabini’s room is, right?”

“I’ll ask the prat,” Scorpious snarled and Lavender shot him a worried look but he wasn’t paying her any attention. He was digging his quill so hard into the parchment that Albus worried that it might break in two, “he’s probably too busy snogging his reflection or eating small animals.”

Lavender looked very concerned. “I hope not.”

Albus was too busy getting the remainder of trash out of his hair and while his friend was busy writing, he stood up and walked over to his brother. James was now playing with his Gobstone set with Mason at a table, looking awfully pleased with himself, “Hey, do you know anything about Scorpious’s brother?” he asked by way of greeting.

His brother turned his brown eyes up at him annoyingly. Mason was wiping slime off his face where a marble had hit him, “Brother?” he asked vaguely.

“Yeah, Scorpious has a brother. Benjamin or something,” Albus said and he wasn’t sure why he was asking his own brother but he might have seen him around at some point.

Mason kicked Albus in the knee for something to do and he glowered at him angrily before he grinned. Chris and Elliot Thomas were lounging around reading Quidditch Weekly and Albus had never disliked them more for it, looking so calm and easy when he might get eaten. “Benjamin Malfoy? That does sound familiar.” He angled his head at James, “didn’t he sell us illegal fireworks last year?”

“Oh, yeah…” James said with delight, grinning. Albus felt a bit of unease going down his back, “and he showed his naughty pictures too—I mean, he showed us perfectly respectable photography of women fully dressed.”

Albus rolled his eyes. “So you knew him then?”

James thought about it. “Wouldn’t say I _knew_ him but yeah, he was always hanging round Roxie and so I guess we were all right.”

Mason nodded thoughtfully. “Caught them snogging each other a few times. I’d rather _forget_ that,” he said with a shudder and Albus thought it was a good thing Scorpious couldn’t hear this. He had such a crush on her, “Graduated last year didn’t he?” he asked James, who nodded.

“So, what’s he look like?” Albus asked curiously, trying to imagine an older version of Scorpious. It made him slightly afraid though if his older brother were anything like him and he had to bite back a scream, “I’ve been wondering.” And it would help to know what he looked like if he were going to meet them all in some dark, misty alley.

James narrowed his eyes on him for a moment or two, clearly suspicious. But thinking that he probably was up to no good seemed to please him, “You can’t miss him Albus.” Mason was setting up the Gobstone set again, looking determined. “He’s a tall, creepy bloke with real freaky eyes. What are you so curious for?”

Tall, creepy bloke…that didn’t sound very good, Albus thought but he figured that with Scorpious, he could probably be Satan himself. “None of your business,” he said to his brother, who pretended to gasp with girlish shock, “thanks anyway,” he said before turning away.

When he walked back to Lavender and Scorpious, he saw that his blonde friend was glaring at her annoyingly while folding up his letter. Albus wondered what had happened in the brief time that he had been gone, “What’s wrong?” he asked to Lavender, who appeared as dreamy as ever.

“Lav told me that she wishes she had a brother. I was telling her that it’s not really that big of a deal, especially when all he does is bully you and make you feel like crap,” Scorpious said with a frown.

Albus wondered what it was like for Lavender to have five sisters but he imagined that it wasn’t really all that much fun. Lily was always hanging around him at home and he didn’t mind it most of the time. “That’s easy for you to say. I’d like to have a big brother, at least he wouldn’t want to bore me with dresses and tell me how fat I am,” Lavender said with a roll of her eyes.

“Actually, my brother would.” Scorpious said dryly. Lavender looked rather wistful regardless though and spent the remainder of the night doing her homework and eventually doing their own for them until she said her good nights and headed towards the girl’s dorm.

Albus watched her go and then turned his attention to Scorpious. “It won’t be so bad, having your brother helping us out.” There was a slight pause as the Common Room started to file out.

“It’s going to be bad,” Scorpious growled, standing up from the table. “You just don’t know it yet.” He warned before stalking towards their dorm. Albus wished that he could tell him about how knotted his stomach was, but he would rather not think about it because he had a feeling that his friend was right, things were going to get really bad.

 


	12. Dueling the Prince

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Dueling Club has begun and of course, nothing goes as planned with Zabini, Smith and Misfits all in the same room.

“I know _some_ of you think you know the meaning of the word _courage_ but I am going to prove you wrong.” These pompous words spilled from Professor Smith’s mouth like overripe bile and Albus had to ram his elbow in Scorpious’s ribs to stop him from bursting out with laughter. Their Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was currently walking down a long, raised platform that looked about as old as Professor McGonagall by a few hundred years.

Today was their first ever Dueling Club lesson and while Albus and his two Misfit friends hadn’t exactly been looking forward to it for various reasons, he felt that they had worried for nothing. All they had done for the past half hour was stand with their Houses (Though the Gryffindor House had glared at the three of them until they had moved a little outside of the general group) in a musty old Muggle Studies classroom.

Since it was located on the fifth floor, Albus and his friends had had to literally hop onto the next moving staircase to make it in time. They had been almost late of course because Lavender had had her try-out for the Gryffindor House Quidditch team earlier that morning. Albus and Scorpious had shivered and sneezed out on the bleachers but by the time that Lavender had auditioned, doing wild and amazing moves all the while, they’d nearly forgotten about the Dueling Club.

It had come as a relief though, with all that had been going on. Albus and his friends had tried to find some time to talk about their next move and what they would do for Halloween but Professor Longbottom had eerily kept appearing around corners and once, he’d sworn that he’d actually seeped from the cracks in the corridor floor.

Their plans for finding out more about what Zabini was up to had been put, annoyingly on hold for a moment. And that nagging feeling that something was going to go; as it often did in his case horribly wrong kept prickling at the back of Albus’s mind.

He wondered if his father had ever felt this way when he and his own best friends were sneaking around looking for clues. But his father was Harry Potter of course so he found it highly unlikely that he’d had to worry about vampires, werewolves and the possibility of failing Transfiguration because of pink panties.

If they could somehow find out more about Zabini and what was out there killing the Death Eater kids, then Scorpious would be able to enjoy his first year at Hogwarts and Albus and Lavender wouldn’t have to worry nearly as much.

There hadn’t been any murders in a while, not since Rachel Travers and the Daily Prophet had made it more than apparent that even while there was a moment of inactivity, the killer would strike again. “Sure are cheerful, aren’t they?” Albus had asked in disgust before he’d tossed the thing at James’s head at breakfast yesterday morning.

“Well, they don’t really have anything to report, do they?” Lavender had asked with a worried frown.

Scorpious had been rather pale but he’d said grimly. “Not yet anyway. Not until _I’m_ the big news,” Albus had shot him a look. His friend had lowered his voice until only he and Lavender could hear him, though James and Mason had looked awfully curious about what they were talking about. “If there’s a werewolf in the Ministry working with Zabini that they don’t know about, this might not _ever_ be over.”

And there was the unsettling fact that Zabini might be a werewolf himself but Albus couldn’t quite wrap his mind around it. Why would someone go to that much trouble for Wolfsbane when it might not even work and cure them? There was something they’d missed but Albus couldn’t really figure out what it was, “It’ll be over once we figure out what Zabini is hiding on Halloween.” He’d said.

Before either of his friends could say something to that, Professor Longbottom had appeared (Elliot Thomas had choked on his slice of ham in surprise) and the conversation had stopped instantly.

It was pretty annoying.

The rest of that Friday had passed by without any major catastrophes (Some of them caused by the Misfits of course) and Albus had woken up on Saturday in a better mood. Lavender making it on the Gryffindor Quidditch team had been an extra boost and they’d trooped to the fifth floor Muggle Studies room confidently.

While there had been mindless chatter in the first few minutes mostly being caused by James and Mason mocking Louis the Prefect, it had all dwindled down a little by the time they’d caught Zabini glaring their way. He had stood with his own House, looking menacing and just plain mean while his students had eyed him with pure, uncontrolled fear (Goyle especially) and the Ravenclaws had been politely curious while the Hufflepuffs looked just as bored as Albus was feeling.

Professor Longbottom must have set up the stage that Smith was prancing on before they’d gotten here but Albus had heard him whispering to Professor Finch-Fletchley and Chang (They’d been looking rather uncomfortable), “We might get a lucky break if he falls.”

But that would leave them in the mercy of Zabini and Albus wasn’t sure which was worse. He would have felt more comfortable with Professor Longbottom around but he had started to irritate him by popping up so much and there was still the slight doubt that he might be working with Zabini.

Albus had known him forever and he refused to believe that. But he was a little worried about the fact that Goyle kept glaring at the three of them with his beady black eyes. He apparently hadn’t gotten over the fact that Lavender had beaten him up not too long ago and the fact that everyone still made fun of him for it didn’t exactly help, “Look at that prat,” Scorpious said to him in a carrying whisper.

Smith at that moment was puffing out his chest.

Lavender shot their moody blonde friend a glance. “Shush, you’ll get us in trouble!” but she was smiling. Then again, she was always smiling and hadn’t even been that enthusiastic about making the Quidditch team and Albus figured that she’d only care if she could ride some dangerous animal on the field.

Smith was still going on in a loud, booming self-important tone and Albus had to stop himself from passing out from sheer boredom. “What a git,” he muttered.

Lavender nodded in agreement. His classes usually involved giving pointed looks in Albus’s direction and he hadn’t warmed up to his two friends or Rose since that day she’d beaten him up, “He looks like a chicken.” She said.

That had Albus and Scorpious choking on their laughter as Professor Longbottom shot them a warning look. He had been keeping his eye on them anyway and it was rather annoying, almost as annoying as when Rose and Sue Corner had captured Albus and his friend yesterday and demanded that they tell them everything.

So, he had explained about what they’d heard Zabini talking about with Professor Longbottom and Filch and his cousin had been understandably shocked. They were going to come up to Gryffindor Tower after dinner (Much to Scorpious’s horror) and talk about what their next move would be and Albus hoped Professor Longbottom wouldn’t be lurking around a corner while they did it.

“All he needs is feathers.” Albus said with a grin and Lavender giggled.

Scorpious was thoughtful as Smith waved his arms around wildly to get his point through and his House looked awfully embarrassed. Professor Finch-Fletchley had left but Albus had a feeling that he’d made up the excuse about a ghoul being in the girl’s lavatory to stop himself from laughing too hard, “Wouldn’t want to eat him though.”

“What do you think he’d taste like?” Lavender asked curiously.

Albus thought about it. “Probably really sour and bitter,”

Scorpious laughed and Lavender rammed her elbow in his side and he was reduced to a cough, though he pulled on a lock of her black hair to retaliate. She swatted at him but he kept a hold on it, thoughtful, “Probably give you indigestion too. I’m pretty sure even Lav’s beast of a fish wouldn’t eat it.”

Lavender looked affronted about her two-headed monstrosity of a fish that had, to Albus’s knowledge eaten Samantha Jordan’s cat yesterday.

The girl had ranted and raved to the three of them (While they’d been playing Exploding Snap) because it had gone missing and the fact that clumps of hair had been found in Sheriff’s bowl hadn’t helped matters, “He’s sensitive and misunderstood!” Lavender snapped.

“Oh, sure, it’s because he’s a mutant and has two heads.” Scorpious said dryly and she frowned. He and Albus had gone to the girls’ dorm to investigate the mystery of where Samantha Jordan’s cat had vanished to and Scorpious of course had spent half the time making faces at the creature. “He has it in for me, I know it.”

Lavender glared up at him. “Then stop making faces at him!”

Scorpious snorted and started twisting her hair in his fist until Albus punched him in the arm. Reluctantly, he let her go, “It’s not _my_ fault that he’s ugly you know. He’s like Weasley, you tolerate him because he’s scary looking.” Albus shot him a look for that and Rose, who was across from them and could be seen barely because of her red, frizzy hair, seemed to flinch.

Albus opened his mouth to say something to that but Smith apparently had noticed them and said loudly. “I see that _some_ people here aren’t really interested in learning how to defend themselves against the forces of evil!” and every House seemed to jerk in their direction.

Silence.

It was the sort of piercing, humiliating silence that reminded Albus of the time he had farted during the Christmas prayer at his grandparent’s house last year. “Er, what?” he asked innocently even though he could feel the burn of dozens of eyes on the three of them. Scorpious was appearing annoyed but Lavender was beet red.

Smith was standing with his hands on his hips, looking as if he had found a firm example of why he was so useless and not fit to be standing below him. Albus narrowed his eyes a little, “It seems that just because _some_ people are used to the attention of their fathers that they feel themselves too important to listen to this advice!”

There were murmurs and whispers.

Albus frowned; wanting nothing more than to hex him off the stage until he cracked his big fat head open. It’d probably deflate his ego a little, “You haven’t exactly been giving any _real_ advice for the past hour! All you’ve done is go on and on about stuff you don’t know about!” the daring words came out before he could stop them but he didn’t regret it.

Everyone knew that Smith was a big coward and hadn’t fought during the Battle of Hogwarts so long ago. The words seemed to echo off the walls and Albus felt as if he had suddenly become the only person in the whole wide world but he clenched his fists and met Smith’s outraged blue eyes head on.

“And what would you know about teaching a class Potter? It’s a lot harder than it looks but I’m pretty sure _you_ have no worries about any of your classes with the right _help_.” Smith said, his cheeks a little red with anger. Albus could feel his anger brimming at the insinuation that his father would help him pass his classes by the end of the year and he was pulling out his wand before he could help it, “eager to prove yourself?” his Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher asked snidely upon noticing.

Albus wanted to use the nastiest hex he could but he was regrettably aware that he didn’t know as much as he would have liked. Lavender on the other hand probably knew a whole book worth but she was looking at him worriedly and not encouraging him, “Don’t play his game,” she whispered.

Before he could say anything, he felt something stabbing him in the side and realized his moody blonde friend had used his wand to get his attention. “ _Do it_ ,” Scorpious hissed like a horrible demon on his right.

Smith was appearing quite smug but he caught the exchange, though it was obvious that he hadn’t heard. An ominous silence was still gripping the other Houses and Albus was surprised that his brother was keeping his mouth shut but when he glanced back at him, it was only because Mason was holding his hand over his mouth.

James was turning maroon.

“I think we’ve had enough of _you_ for today, Smith. I’d advise you to step down and stop harassing the students,” it was Zabini’s voice and Albus was so startled that he felt his jaw dropping.

Zabini had been watching the exchange contemptuously, his black robes clearly giving him the advantage as he’d stood in the shadows. His House was regarding him warily, as if he meant to snatch one of them and eat them and Albus had his doubts that he’d be kind about it, “Blaise, I was only—” Smith began.

The Potions teacher’s eyes narrowed warningly and Albus was pretty sure that dozens of cute old ladies had just perished. Scorpious sent a glare his way but Lavender appeared awfully pale, “The fact that you haven’t said anything useful for the past half an hour has brought me to make this decision.”

Smith spluttered indignantly. “The Death Eater murders are a serious business, Blaise! Do you think that scaring them out of their wits is going to make them more careful? They need to know what bravery is,”

“By someone who’s brave and the last I’d heard, you aren’t among them.” Zabini said coldly and the verbal slap seemed to make Smith’s cheeks pale until Albus thought he could see through him.

Professor Chang looked very uncomfortable and she intervened. “Blaise, this isn’t the time for this. We’re here to teach the kids how to protect themselves if they’re attacked and there’s not an older student or an adult around. The last thing they need is to see Hogwarts teachers arguing amongst themselves.”

“We do that enough; don’t we?” Zabini asked her calmly and Professor Longbottom’s eyes narrowed with exasperation. Turning his attention back to Smith, he said icily and with the sort of dry quality best saved for the dead, “You were boring us all half an hour ago and I believe that _I’ll_ take over for the next two.”

Great.

Scorpious whispered hotly in his ear, though he could have done without the punch in the arm. “He’ll kill us,” and Lavender nodded in agreement.

Smith appeared as if he wanted to argue and for a moment, Albus hoped that he would and spare them all. He was the lesser of evils, “I wasn’t aware that you had taken such an interest in this class Blaise when you’re so busy lately.” There was a snide cast to his features and Zabini’s eyes narrowed into thin, dark slits and he made a move forward and a poor second year Slytherin shrieked and moved out of his way.

“My interests have nothing at all to do with you,” was Zabini’s calm and dangerous reply and Albus saw Smith blanch a little with unease. “I think it might be best for the children to practice first hand with spells instead of listening to you prattling on about things you don’t understand.”

If Albus had actually liked Zabini, he would have grinned at the expression on Smith’s face but he felt nothing but dread. Without even offering some sort of kinder dismissal, the creature shot Smith a look filled with loathing and it was enough to have him scrambling off stage as he ascended. Professor Longbottom and Chang were appearing apprehensive but relieved, “I want each student to get into a group and face off in pairs.” Zabini barked and the students rushed to do as they were told.

Scorpious and Albus moved towards Lavender at the same time and Zabini, having been watching them like a hawk sneered. “I think we’ve had enough of the Misfits for one day. Malfoy, go with Goyle and Potter Jr. can have Ms. Creevey,” he said with a sneer.

Albus groaned in aggravation and he glanced around and saw that Sally Creevey appeared flabbergasted with horror. Samantha Jordan was patting her on the back consolingly and he frowned, “I don’t want to be stuck with you either!” he snapped as he marched over to her, even though he was beet red.

Scorpious was cursing foully under his breath while the Houses separated and paired up with one another. Professor Longbottom and Chang were breaking up friends and putting them against people they didn’t know and while Sally faced off against him on the other side of the room, looking enraged, he saw Rose being paired with Elliot Thomas.

Chris Finnegan was paired with Sue Corner, both of them appearing disappointed and Albus had a feeling that she would have rather been hexing him instead.

Lavender on the other hand was chatting away with some chubby Hufflepuff boy that looked a little nervous. How she managed to appear so calm was beyond Albus but he envied her and glanced around for his moody blonde friend and saw him glaring at Goyle viciously.

The Slytherin appeared to be enjoying himself though and by the time everyone was facing off (Somehow Mason and James wound up together), the animosity between them was palpable. Zabini had descended the stage and Albus felt a prickle of fear as he wandered between students, saying, “In a real attack, remaining focused and fighting your fear will keep you alive. Against a vampire, who we all know have superior speed and agility, hesitation can mean your death.”

Albus didn’t appreciate the way he’d look at him at those words.

“The Death Eater murders have been committed heinously against children, most of them older than you are.” Zabini was saying as he stopped near Rose, who turned pale and glanced up at him warily, “young as you are, _some_ of you know enough spells that will aid in your escape or alert an older student or adult to come to the rescue.”

“But what if it isn’t a vampire?” Albus heard Rose asked worriedly and he had to stop himself from smacking himself. Sally Creevey was looking intense and he didn’t exactly like the way she was aiming the wand at his face.

Zabini glared down at Rose as if she were a bug he wanted to squash and she recoiled a little and Elliot Thomas turned pale. “What if it is, Ms. Weasley? What would you do then? Strange and dark things are all around you. Some of them closer than you might think,”

Albus shuddered.

“Now. Face your opponent and I want you only to Disarm with the spell that Potter is so fond of,” Zabini said with a sneer and Albus saw Smith grinning smugly in a corner with Professor Chang. “Expelliarmus will send your opponent’s wand flying and the Shield Charm, Protego will block most minor spells, depending on the caster.”

Rose appeared quite confident.

Albus swallowed but faced Sally Creevey with a wan smile that she didn’t return and he distantly heard Zabini say. “One, two, th—”

Just then, though, there was an explosion of noise and Albus looked around in confusion until he spotted Scorpious shouting. “Tarantallegra!” just as Goyle spat fiercely, “Densaugeo!”

The spells collided in an array of bright lights and sparks and a few students moved away from them shrieking and cursing. James and Mason were roaring with laughter even while the spells bounced off in various directions, one of them smacking some poor Ravenclaw boy in the face and the other hitting a window.

Glass shattered into millions of dusty pieces and Professor Chang rushed to some of the students while Smith was huddled on his haunches, covering his head. “I said at the count of _three_! Are the two of you so simple that you can’t even follow the simplest of directions?!” Zabini was roaring furiously.

Scorpious and Goyle were glaring fiercely at one another, ignoring him. They both looked a little mental and sweat was beading on their faces as if they had run a mile and Albus saw his friend’s fingers clench tightly on his wand, “Pretty good Malfoy! I guess you have to know a spell or two since you’re going to die soon! No special treatment for princes!” the nasty Slytherin boy jeered.

“You shut your big fat mouth you piece of (Albus saw a few people flinch)!” Scorpious shouted furiously. Zabini was making his way over to them like a terrible nightmare and Albus rushed over to see if he could stop his friend from making a bad mistake.

Sally Creevey was gawping. “Look at those idiots!”

“Shut up!” Albus snapped at her.

But she was already going on like she always did. “My dad is trying to stop all of this stuff you know! We’re not supposed to be fighting one another while there’s a monster out there!” she said and while Albus had a feeling that she was right, it wasn’t what he needed to hear right now.

Albus gave her a dirty look and then looked around to make sure that his other friend was all right. Lavender was on the other side of the room, unharmed and busy helping her partner up from the floor where shards of glass had gotten into his hair and he blew out a sigh of relief.

“Stop calling me a prince!” Scorpious was shouting and his eyes were brimming with fury. Apparently, they’d still been arguing while Albus had been distracted and he could sense his friend’s temper snapping into thin shreds. “I’m _not_ going to die! That thing isn’t going to kill me!”

Goyle was appearing out of breath but there was a mean look in his eyes and some of the Slytherins were watching eagerly for what he would do next. “You’ll be the next story in the Prophet Malfoy! Everyone says so!”

“I’ll kill you!” Scorpious snapped and the words seemed to echo off the walls until Albus could practically sense the students gasping in terror. Zabini had been waylaid by a few students that were complaining of injuries but he appeared sickened to even be tending to scraped knees and knuckles.

“Go ahead and _try_!” Goyle snapped before aiming his wand at him again. His fingers were shaking a little, “Furnunculus!” he shouted furiously and Scorpious dodged it just in time but it hit Sue Corner instead as she tried to get out of the way and she fell backwards with a groan.

“ _Sue_!” Rose cried in a panic, rushing over. Her hair was flying around her face like a cloud and he wasn’t surprised to see that she was crying, “Malfoy you prat!” she shrieked as nasty green boils broke out over her friends face. Albus didn’t really feel sorry for her but he had reached Scorpious and was yanking his wand arm back.

“Let _go_ of me, Albus!” Scorpious shouted furiously, ramming his elbow into his stomach. Grunting, he held onto him tightly while his wand sparked and sent a nasty burnt smell into the air that made him think of bad fireworks.

Professor Longbottom had restored the window but was walking over to them, looking angry. “Stop that right _now_! I think you’ve caused enough trouble for one day!” he said but the two boys paid him very little attention.

Albus was trying to wrestle Scorpious’s wand out of his hand but his friend was proving ridiculously stubborn. “Stop being stupid!” he snapped.

“I am _not_ stupid!” Scorpious said while pushing his face away while they grappled like a pair of the Giant Squid’s babies. “He’s the problem!”

Goyle was having a hard time deciding who he wanted to hex first but Albus was so distracted by Scorpious that he hardly paid him any attention until he felt the burn of a spell by his ear. “ _Goyle_! Twenty points from Slytherin!” Professor Chang shouted in outrage.

But he was beyond hearing and Albus and Scorpious had barely dodged the attack and the spell crashed into the neighboring wall. “You git!” Albus shouted but Goyle, beyond thinking at all, shot another hex and even while he tried to push his friend out of the way, he was hit square in the face, the wind knocked out of him as everything went black.

 


	13. A Bit of Doubt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Albus and his two Misfit friends are once again faced with more questions than answers but by the end of the day, something good comes in the form of a most unreliable person.

Albus could hear the humming of noise around his head and struggled to wake out of the foggy haze of pain luring him back to sleep. He could smell medicine, chocolate and there was a pressure on his forehead that burned underneath what could only be thickly wrapped bandages. “Why’s his tongue sticking out like that?” this surly voice could only belong to Scorpious and he angled his head at the sound of it and felt a jolt of pain down his neck.

“He’s asleep!” came the practical reply, belonging to Lavender.

There was a slight pause before Scorpious spoke again and Albus felt something stabbing him in the cheek. Underneath the pain, he felt a pool of annoyance and managed to open one eye to see him leaning over his face, his wand buried against his jaw. “But he looks _dead_.” His moody blonde friend observed worriedly.

Lavender’s tone was as dry as paint. “I’m pretty sure he isn’t,”

“Let’s poke at him to make sure,” Scorpious insisted and Albus felt something pinching his face together and he grumbled a curse. “I think he said something!”

“He can’t say _anything_ with you smashing his face!” Lavender cried in a panic and there was the sound of a squabble and Albus imagined that Scorpious had decided to bully her instead.

Relieved that he’d been spared for the time being, Albus cracked open both of his eyes, the pain in his forehead conjuring tears. Wiping them away hastily, he sat up slowly and was unsurprised to find Scorpious smashing Lavender’s cheeks together with a malicious gleam in his eye while she wailed.

“What are you two doing? Stop that right _now_! Patients are trying to sleep!” the sound came from a figure stomping over and he recognized it as Madame Brown.

She had her wand out as if she would hex his two friends and upon noticing her, Scorpious released Lavender and attempted a look of innocence. Lavender was rubbing her cheeks and glaring at him a little, “We’re sorry but we didn’t think that Albus was really alive,” his blonde friend said stupidly.

“Well. _Obviously_ he is,” Madame Brown replied dryly while glancing at Albus briefly before reaching over to fluff his pillows. She piled them behind his back to help him sit up even though he was all right and tucked his blankets around him more securely with a little tsk, “and having to hear all this noise!”

Scorpious and Lavender brightened at the sight of him. “You’re okay!” they both exclaimed too loudly and Madame Brown shot them a look.

Albus had to bite back his grin.

Madame Brown shook her head, locks of blonde hair swaying in front of his face before she moved back and asked. “Would you like something to eat?” Albus hadn’t even been aware of his stomach growling and he nodded sheepishly. “You’ve been here for most of the day and missed lunch I’m afraid.”

“I’ve been here all _day_?” Albus asked in alarm. He touched his bandaged forehead and pulled his fingers back sharply, “am I that messed up?”

Madame Brown looked very sympathetic. “Not too bad, which is lucky,” she said while he glanced around and spotted a nightstand. It was flooded with cards and his wand was snuggled between some chocolate, “your cousins sent you some treats and get-well cards. It was so nice of them,”

Lavender piped. “Your cousin Roxanne tried to send you a toilet seat!”

Scorpious nodded, blushing a little and probably thinking of some exaggerated moment with his impish cousin. “But Madame Brown said it might not be sanitary,”

Albus was slightly disappointed by the fact that he’d missed his cousins pouring in to see him. But he had about five million letters to look forward to from family and that brightened his mood a little, “Did Rose send me anything?”

Lavender took a pile of Cauldron Cakes from the nightstand and placed them carefully in his lap. “She’s been really worried about you.” Scorpious snarled something under his breath, “she only just left after checking on Corner and hissing at Scorpious.”

Of course she would be mad at Scorpious for something, Albus thought wryly while opening one of the Cauldron Cakes. His forehead hurt though and he touched it with a wince just as Madame Brown said with a cluck, “Poor thing, getting such a nasty curse like that,”

“What?” Albus asked curiously. He couldn’t really remember anything except for wrestling with Scorpious and shoving him out of the way of— “Goyle!” he snapped angrily and Madame Brown shot him a vicious look, “er, sorry.”

Scorpious was looking down at the floor, probably recalling exactly why Albus had been shot in the face. “It was only a matter of time before I saw you in here with all the accidents you three get into.” Madame Brown was saying with a shake of her head.

Albus rolled his eyes a little before asking curiously. “So what happened after I got hit?” he couldn’t remember anything but pain. “Did the Club still go on?”

“Oh, no, it was canceled immediately. A lot of people were complaining that they got hit with all those spells bouncing around but I think they were just hoping to get away from Zabini,” Lavender replied simply.

“Who doesn’t?” Scorpious asked dryly.

Madame Brown tried to hide a sudden smile. “And after I got hit?” Albus asked, motioning for Lavender to go on.

She informed him with a worried frown. “It was a really big mess in the classroom because of all the glass.” Scorpious nodded fervently. “And Smith was hiding out in a corner and looking like he was about to cry.”

Albus snickered while Scorpious continued for Lavender as she was overcome with giggles. “He ran out before anyone else could!”

Lavender stopped giggling long enough to say with a nervous expression that made Albus worry a little. “Zabini was saying all sorts of bad words after you and Corner were taken to the hospital.” He shuddered a little, imagining how horrible that must have been, “and Professor Chang dragged Goyle off to her classroom for a detention.”

Scorpious snorted while Madame Brown shook her head at them all, amazed by how much trouble they could get into. “He was lucky too because Zabini looked like he was going to break him over his knee.” Albus stared at him sharply and he flinched, saying. “ _I_ didn’t get into any trouble, okay? Zabini says he still owes us for stealing the Sorting Hat!”

Perfect.

“Who carried me?” Albus wanted to know while he tried to banish the horrible image of himself drooling and sagging in front of hordes of students (His brother would never let him live it down and had probably told everyone). Sally Creevey would continue to call him a dork and he sank a little into the blankets, “did it look bad?”

Lavender nodded vigorously. “Professor Longbottom. You were unconscious but your tongue was hanging out like _this_ ,” she stuck out her tongue and groaned. Scorpious burst out laughing and Madame Brown frowned, “and your neck was all _twisted_ ,” she demonstrated by angling her head grotesquely to the side.

Albus wondered how far he could fall into a hole.

Scorpious roared with laughter. “And I think you farted while Professor Longbottom was taking you out of the room!” Albus buried his face in his hands while his friend doubled over, choking. “ _Corner_ was in better shape than you by a mile!”

“Mr. Malfoy!” Madame Brown snapped. “Has _no one_ taught you the meaning of empathy?” she asked tautly and Scorpious shrugged a little, looking annoyingly pleased with himself.

Albus raised his head from his hands and saw Lavender still groaning with her tongue lolling out and said. “You can _stop_ that,” and she did with a bright and happy smile on her face that grated on him, “where’s Corner?” he didn’t really care but he’d rather not have her here laughing at him too.

“Ms. Corner is sleeping a few beds down from you.” Madame Brown said tersely, reminding them to keep their voices down and Albus glanced around quickly, seeing from the light in the windows that it was probably late afternoon. “I managed to get most of the boils off of her but she’s a bit weak.”

Lavender rolled her eyes. “No she isn’t. Her giant _ego_ is wounded,”

Scorpious roared with laughter.

“Mr. Malfoy!” Madame Brown barked and the three friends jumped. Shaking her head at them, the nurse, “If Madame Pomfrey saw this I’d never hear the end of it!” she said, naming the senior Head Nurse at the school.

Albus didn’t see her around but his father had told him that she could be far worse than she looked. He would know of course since he’d practically lived at the hospital while he’d been going to school, “We’re sorry!” he said hastily.

Madame Brown turned her attention on the two of his friends, who flinched visibly at her icy stare. “I don’t even know if I should _let_ you two stay in to see him after the way you’re behaving!” she said with a fierce shake of her head at the two of them. Lavender looked especially chagrined, “if you weren’t my goddaughter I’d write your mum about you.”

“I’m sorry,” Lavender said sincerely and Albus wondered if she were lying or not until he saw her expression. She hardly spoke about her mother but he had sensed that they didn’t really get on too well, “we were just really worried about him.”

Madame Brown opened her mouth to retort something, her face turning a bit red before she subsided. “That’s all right then, I suppose. Just try to keep your voices down, Lavvy. I have too many sick students in here in need of a good rest,” and with that and a pat on Lavender’s dark head, she walked off.

Albus saw her going towards a boy with antlers growing out of his head, making sure she was truly gone before saying to his friends. “You didn’t have to poke me like that, I wasn’t dead!”

“Well, you were looking pretty dead to me.” Scorpious said with a shrug as he sat down on the bed and stole a Cauldron Cake. Lavender occupied Albus’s right and blushed the entire time while fidgeting with the blankets, “I thought you were really hurt.”

There was a slight silence after this and Albus reassured him carefully. “I’m all right but are you?” he asked pointedly and Scorpious snorted and muttered nastily underneath his breath. “Goyle was asking for it but you don’t need to get into any more trouble.”

Scorpious’s face turned red with renewed anger. “I wasn’t just going to stand there and let him talk about my family. It’s bad enough that my grandfather calls me a _prince_ but I’m not going to let him and his freaky friends do it here,”

“Do Goyle’s parents believe that you’re going to rise up and lead purebloods back into power?” Lavender asked him carefully.

“Probably. A lot of people in my grandfather’s circle believe it; Voldemort said that I had to take my dad’s place since he didn’t kill the Headmaster.” Scorpious said with a grimace. Albus watched him clench his fists, “this is all my dad’s fault.”

Albus frowned disapprovingly. “Don’t say that—”

Scorpious overrode him fiercely. “If he hadn’t agreed to try and kill the Headmaster then this would never have happened. I wouldn’t be the one paying for his mistakes,” he hissed and even though the words were harsh, Albus wondered if there was some truth to them underneath it all.

Lavender frowned and stopped playing with the blankets long enough to say in a careful, reassuring way that instantly made Albus feel better too. “It’s just a silly rumor, like you said Scorpious.”

“A lot of people believe it—” Scorpious began.

Lavender interrupted him sternly. “It’s _not_ going to happen so don’t get angry at your dad, okay?” she tried to smile but he glared at her until it faded. “Maybe Goyle just picks on you so much because he’s jealous that he’s not getting any of the attention.”

“Why would anyone _want_ that sort of attention?” Albus asked with a repulsed frown, his skin breaking out in an angry flush. To have people fawning all over you and promoting that sort of hatred made him sick to his stomach but it was far worse when one of those people was your own flesh and blood. His friend’s grandfather sounded insane and it was bad enough that he scared him so badly but the pressure of it all had to be more than one person could deal with.

“Maybe some people like it,” Lavender replied with a thoughtful expression on her face, as if she couldn’t believe she had said the words out loud.

Scorpious snorted. “There are enough nutters out there that probably do. My grandfather lives with us and he’s always talking about it and how Voldemort promised that I’d make up for what my dad didn’t do.”

“But how would you do it?” Albus asked in alarm. “You’re only a kid.”

“I don’t know, okay? All he keeps saying is that I’m destined to bring purebloods back into their rightful place,” Scorpious said angrily, though his skin was paler than snow. “I don’t know what he expects me to do.”

There was a stiff and uncomfortable silence after that until Lavender spoke, her tone serious and her eyes flicking between them. “Isn’t it sort of strange though?” when neither of them said anything she continued uneasily, “Scorpious told us about his grandfather telling him he was a prince and I just thought it was strange that the murders are happening right when he starts at Hogwarts.”

That had the boys exchanging quick looks of their own. “What are you trying to say? That that thing is just after me?” Scorpious demanded hotly.

Lavender shook her head and said gently, as if she were soothing some sort of terrible demon. With their friends temper, he probably could be one, “I’m just saying that it’s odd, okay? Someone out there is at the Ministry probably finding all the names of the Death Eaters and their families because of the registry.” She smoothed down her faded Gryffindor robes as she continued on, a frown on her face, “I reread some of the older Daily Prophets and they were saying that the murders started over the summer, right when Scorpious would have been getting ready to come here.”

“So what are you saying?” Albus demanded, feeling a rush of unease.

Lavender looked a bit stricken but she was silent for a while as Scorpious glared at her and waiting for her to speak. “I don’t know, but…I just get this feeling that it’s not what we think it is. The vampire or whatever it is.”

“And Zabini? You think he’s not as bad as he looks?” Scorpious asked her heatedly, his eyes sparking dangerously. “He’s going into the Forest for Wolfsbane and _you_ said that it can cure werewolf bites,”

“I never said it _did_. Only that people _believed_ it could,” Lavender corrected, her eyes narrowing a little at his tone.

Scorpious ignored that and snapped. “That prat is out there, sneaking around and Professor Longbottom knows about it. For all we know, _he_ has the list of Death Eater kids at Hogwarts here with him! Zabini’s a teacher, he’d have all of that information,” he insisted in a rush and Albus had to agree with him on that.

Lavender looked unsure of herself now. “I just don’t know,” she said after a long time when there was nothing but silence between them. “Zabini has never been out of school because of the full moon and we all know he’s going out into the Forest but what we _don’t_ know is why he’s looking for Wolfsbane.”

Albus knew that she was right but Scorpious didn’t like that she had pointed this obvious fact out. “It’s like we thought. The thing out there is a werewolf pretending to be a vampire to get my dad and everyone off its trail.”

“Maybe Zabini wants to find the Wolfsbane, figure out the cure and give it to his friend so no one will ever know.” Scorpious finished this gruesome thought for him and Albus had to swallow back the hysteria bubbling in his throat.

Lavender appeared thoughtful, but resigned and she said to their moody blonde friend. “I’m sorry then, for making you worry.” He snorted. “I’ll do all your Charms homework for you, okay?” she said with a sweet smile.

“Fine, but make sure you don’t forget,” Scorpious grumbled, relenting.

With everything that they’d discussed, Albus was relieved to see them making up so easily but he wasn’t sure how Scorpious dealt with it.

Carefully, he found himself saying to them, bringing the conversation back around to unsettling things. “My dad said that a lot of Death Eaters that didn’t get caught after the War still believed that Voldemort was going to come back, even after all the things he’d done.”

Albus thought they were insane but his father had said something strange, about how people were willingly trapped in what they wanted to believe. He didn’t really know what that meant but some part of him agreed as he thought about his friend’s situation that seemed to grow darker and darker each day.

“Goyle and I used to be friends until everyone found out that my dad was dating my step-mum. They still don’t like Muggle-born people,” Scorpious admitted with a disgusted look on his face. “I mean, my step-mum is really nice. Benjamin doesn’t like her but me and Emily think she’s all right.”

There was a slight silence after that that was only broken up by someone else coughing and whining a few beds down. Madame Brown appeared out of her office and went to them, medicine in one hand and a stern expression on her face, “At least you _have_ a dad.” Lavender said after a long while. “I don’t know anything _about_ mine.”

“It’s not all that great,” Scorpious tried to say hastily.

Albus turned to her and said with a grin. “At least you have five sisters to keep you busy and you’ve got us and Rose (Scorpious made a nasty face) and you can have James if you want.” He offered and Lavender seemed awfully considering, as if she could buy his brother on sale at Diagon Alley.

Before Lavender could say anything to that, Madame Brown came over and the three of them pasted innocent expressions onto their faces. “I think you’ve gotten Mr. Potter riled up enough.”

“But—” his two friends began.

“I _don’t_ want to hear it. I think he’ll be well enough for dinner later but he needs his rest and the two of you probably have tons of homework to get done,” Madame Brown said slyly and Scorpious blanched. Lavender appeared as if she wouldn’t mind getting their weeks homework done and Albus shook his head at her craziness, “now go on. I’ll be taking care of him for you.”

Scorpious appeared doubtful but punched Albus in the arm before he hopped off the bed and started walking away. “Don’t die,” he warned over his shoulder.

Albus rubbed his arm and snapped. “I’ll try not to, thanks,”

Lavender gave him an awkward pat on the head and he felt like some odd little pet and heard her say. “I’ll bring Sheriff down for you to keep you company. He’s really good at listening.”

Albus wanted to point out that the beast couldn’t talk but she was already walking away, humming. Madame Brown watched her go fondly before plumping his pillows and handing him some of his get-well cards from his family, “Do you really think I can leave for dinner?” he asked.

“Oh, yes. But you need all the rest you can get.” Madame Brown said as she tucked his legs back into the blankets with unnecessary force. He felt like a mummy and wondered if he would even be able to slide out to go to the bathroom, “things are getting so strange, don’t you think? Vampires out there causing all this trouble and Professor Zabini so stressed.”

“What do you mean?” Albus asked her sharply.

Madame Brown appeared uncomfortable and surprised by her mishap. “I forget that you’re not your dad. You look so much like him you know, except for the glasses,” she said with a sigh.

Albus rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I know that but what’s stressing Zabini out?” Madame Brown gave him a suspicious glance but he lied hastily, thanking that he knew Lavender Patil at all (She could lie better than anyone he knew), “he’s my, uhm, favorite teacher. I want to be just like him,” the words felt like acid coming from his tongue.

“Isn’t that sweet?” Madame Brown said with a sigh, resting a hand over her heart as if Albus had just confessed his undying love for Zabini. Complete with a bouquet, “I only heard this from Professor Longbottom over tea the other day but last year, Professor Zabini was in a serious accident of some kind and he’s been trying to find a cure.”

The Wolfsbane! “What _sort_ of accident?”

“Oh, Professor Longbottom didn’t say, only that it was very serious. He and Hagrid have been helping Professor Zabini with finding something to help, that’s all I know.” Madame Brown said while Albus’s mind reeled from this new information.

So, Hagrid knew about him sneaking into the Forbidden Forest too! How could he not tell them? They would have to talk to him too and wheedle information from him..

Albus wondered what sort of lies Zabini had told him and Professor Longbottom and felt a wave of anger go through him. They had to figure out what he was up to unless no one would ever find out the truth, “Erm, thanks,” he said to her, distracted and she smiled at him sweetly.

He felt bad about lying but by the time that he finished reading all of his cousins cards, eaten his lunch and been given something to sleep, his brain was pulsing. The Dueling Club was still a little fuzzy but he didn’t think that it was hard to recall the mud on Zabini’s robes or the sense that all was not as it seemed.

Albus couldn’t shake the feeling that they’d missed something important but with this latest news ringing in his ears, he pushed it aside. There were so many other, stranger things that he needed answers to and with that uneasy fact hovering on the edge of his dreams, he slept.

 

X

 

He wasn’t sure how long he’d slept but when he woke up again, he was more energized than he’d been since he’d first came to Hogwarts, thinking that his times here wouldn’t be nearly as bad as they’d turned out to be. After Madame Brown deemed him well enough even with the bandages still wrapped around his head and allowed him to dress, he was able to go down to the Great Hall for dinner.

Blessedly, Lavender hadn’t brought her two-headed piranha from her dorm to keep him company and he didn’t have to worry about lugging the monster’s bowl under his arm (Lavender wouldn’t have liked it if he’d dropped it). The castle was rumbling with the hundreds and hundreds of voices of students, teachers and Albus could have sworn he saw Peeves playing tennis with the Fat Friar around the corner.

Winter was coming with such force that Albus wasn’t surprised when he glanced outside and saw that there was frost clinging to the windows and he wondered vaguely if it would snow soon. While he walked, he didn’t see anyone he recognized and passed by the Headmistress office hastily not wanting to be anywhere near it after what he and his strange little group had done.

One of the gargoyles laughed at him. It was a long, drafty walk by himself and he took that time to wonder what their next move would be and how soon they would be able to come up with a good enough plan to fool the adults (The fact that he had a bad feeling about it was quickly forgotten).

Going into Zabini’s office on Halloween seemed like the most important. But he was also wondering when they would be able to sneak down to visit Hagrid and decided that he would send his friend an owl.

With all the mess that he’d gotten into lately he hadn’t even been able to go down for tea but when he’d explained all of this to his giant family friend, Hagrid had seemed more amused than hurt. Apparently, everyone knew about the mishaps of the Misfits and Albus hadn’t let it bother him too much but now he wondered if he could honestly lie to Hagrid to get the information he and his friends needed.

It made him distinctly uncomfortable to even think about it but it had to be done. Zabini and his killer friend had to be stopped. It was what his father would have done and that gave him a confident boost while he pondered what his next move would have been in this situation.

His father had faced off against giant snakes, a rogue Bludger, crazy house-elves, Boggarts and had stopped the most evil wizard of all time. Albus didn’t think that there was anything his father couldn’t do and he felt a bit silly trying to compare himself to him, not when he couldn’t do anything right.

As he walked and thought about all the trouble that was most likely up ahead no matter how much he’d like to think otherwise, he rammed into someone. There was a clatter of papers and Albus found himself skidding back and nearly falling, only barely managing to grip the old stone wall to support himself. “Watch where you’re _going_ would you?” a snide voice snapped and Albus blinked in the darkness and lantern light to see that it was Louis the Prefect.

Albus frowned in irritation. “Why don’t you watch where you’re going?” he snapped back. He had never liked the Prefect and he wasn’t in the mood to be bothered with him just now.

Louis appeared flustered and a little affronted and it was then that Albus noticed that he’d dropped sheets of parchment. Hastily, the older boy bent down and scooped them up, probably bits of homework that he was desperate to get done and shot him a glare once he had resorted them to their rightful place. “I’d watch that _attitude_ if I were you, Potter Jr.” He barked, “I’ll have you know that _I’m_ your House’s Prefect!”

“Like I care,” Albus replied, shoving him out of his way and walking the rest of the way to the Great Hall. He could hear Louis cursing fluently under his breath but shrugged it off, vaguely knowing that he was going to make sure he told James and Mason to do something to him.

By the time he made it into the Great Hall, dinner was well under way and a few people sent him curious glances as he walked down towards the Gryffindor table. Elliot Thomas and Chris Finnegan began whispering to one another and Sally Creevey shot him a nasty look as he finally sat down between Lavender and Scorpious, “How are you feeling?” Lavender asked worriedly.

“All right,” Albus replied truthfully and he was about to say something more but Scorpious was pulling something out of his robes. “What’s that?” he asked him, though Lavender appeared very pleased.

“My owl sent me a letter not too long ago.” Scorpious replied with a grimace as he extended the parchment to Albus, who took it. “My brother Benjamin wrote back. He’s going to help us. He knows where Zabini’s room is.”

 

 

 


	14. The Interrogation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Albus, his two Misfit friends, Rose and Sue Corner decide to confront Hagrid. While some answers are given, they are left feeling that Halloween may not come fast enough.

 

_**Brat,** _

 

_**Well, well, well. Look who decided to actually ask his brother for help! And here I was thinking you didn’t even like me. This just warms my heart.** _

_**I got your letter a while back and I’m curious, what sort of trouble are you in? Whatever it is, I have to say I’m actually a little proud to say that we’re related for once. Then again, what I did when I was going to Hogwarts is probably tame compared to the sort of disasters you’ve been getting yourself into.** _

_**I don’t know why you want to know where Zabini’s room is unless you’re hoping to be eaten alive but I’ll tell you if you apologize for what you did before you left home. And don’t try to lie and say you don’t remember you little snot.** _

_**I’ll be at Hogwarts the night before Halloween to pick up my girlfriend (Jealous?) for the weekend so make sure you show up. Meet me in the Astronomy Tower at midnight and bring your little friends while you’re at it, I’m curious to know what sort of people can actually put up with you.** _

 

_**P.S.: Emily told me to tell you hello, says you’re still the complete shame of the family for being in Gryffindor (Think you’re something special now, don’t you?) and Dad is all right. Mum is about to explode from worrying about you, I think she might be going bald from pulling on her hair. How many owls have we gotten about you blowing up the Charms room by now? I think I’ve lost count.** _

 

_**Leave the light on,** _

_**Benjamin F. Malfoy** _

 

“He, uhm, sounds charming.” Lavender managed to say for the thousandth time as the three of them stood outside the Great Hall. Chatter and conversation boomed around them but they were much too preoccupied with rereading the letter that Benjamin Malfoy had sent Scorpious a few weeks ago, “I mean, he sounds…”

“Like a prat. You can say it, Lav,” Scorpious snarled furiously as he nearly balled the letter up and tossed it onto the ground. Albus snatched it from his hand and smoothed out the many wrinkles that were marking the surface.

Lavender nodded a little. “Well. He does sound like a prat.”

Albus laughed. “He can’t be all that bad, I mean, he said he’d help us.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean anything. He might change his mind at the last minute just to piss me off,” Scorpious growled furiously, stuffing his hands into his robe pockets and glowering at Lavender as if she had did something wrong.

Albus looked down at the letter again and felt that same brief flicker of hope go through him. It had been a few weeks of course since he had first read it but the fact that Scorpious’s older brother had agreed to write at all was enough to put him in a good mood about their situation with Zabini.

After that first terrible day at the Dueling Club, Albus wasn’t surprised when dozens of parents sent worrisome and sometimes angry owls to the teachers. Professor Longbottom received his fair share but from what Albus had been able to see during breakfast, Zabini had gotten the worst, some of the parents accusing him of trying to actually kill the children.

While he didn’t doubt that Zabini would if he could get the chance, the blame really wasn’t his to take in Albus’s opinion. Smith had been the one who hadn’t known what he’d been doing the entire time and even if Goyle hadn’t have gotten into that fight with his moody blonde friend it would have been a disaster regardless.

Since then though, the classes were more boring and more controlled than Albus would have thought possible. They mostly went up to the Muggle Studies classroom to hear the dos and don’ts of being prey.

Albus had wanted to point out to Professor Longbottom during one lesson (Smith had been prancing around with his chest poked out and his two friends had snorted with laughter) that it hardly mattered if they were in a group or not when a vampire could easily pick through and eat them all.

But no one had said a thing and the classes had become the biggest disappointment next to going into History of Magic and trying to stay awake during goblin history and theory. With the holidays approaching they were being buried underneath ridiculous amounts of homework and Albus found himself spending far too much time in the library with Lavender, Rose and Sue Corner.

His cousin and odd little friend often talked about monsters when their homework was finished while Albus was still worrying over his own. The moldy book that Lavender had borrowed from Sue Corner had had to be returned to the library but she’d checked it out again and was carrying it around as if all the answers to the universe lay between the pages.

Albus wished that they did, or at least described in detail if Zabini were human or not, which he severely doubted by this point, though his cousin rarely wanted to listen to what he had to say. Scorpious usually fell asleep during these boring study sessions so they ignored him (Lavender had begun bringing a blanket for him) and Sue Corner was free to sneer and remark unkindly on what she thought was wrong with him.

Albus had had to be stopped from hexing her during these moments (Rose usually smoothed things over before Scorpious could grumble awake), though Lavender had whispered to him that she was just being cranky. It was becoming wildly known that even though the boils, while gone from Goyle’s hex, had left really nasty marks that had caused Sue to wear a lot of ointment that smelt like old feet.

Albus thought it was fitting but it left the girl in a terrible mood, even more so than usual. Rose on the other hand was anxiously jotting and rewriting various plans for their Halloween trip into Zabini’s office, though Albus hadn’t really told her about Benjamin Malfoy's letter just yet.

If she got her hands on it, she wouldn’t want to give it back and Albus didn’t like the thought of his cousin being the one to lead them into another disaster. Halloween couldn’t turn out to be as horrible as the night they’d stolen the Sorting Hat but if he told Rose this, she would only get her feelings hurt and he’d rather not deal with all the girl emotions.

“Why are we standing here anyway?” Scorpious grumbled as he blew on his hands and looked longingly into the Great Hall, where lunch was nearly ready. The warmth issuing out of it had the snot in Albus’s nose melting and he wiped at it distractedly, “it’s colder here than it is outside.”

Lavender reminded him with a sigh. “We’re waiting on Weasley and Corner so they can help us interrogate Hagrid remember?” she asked and Scorpious reached out and pinched her nose.

Albus smacked his hand away. “Stop that!” he snapped but Scorpious sent him a glare before tugging on Lavender’s hair, which made her squeal, “you can’t go around bullying Lav when we go see Hagrid you know!”

“Why not?” Scorpious demanded, now smashing Lavender’s cheeks.

Albus smacked him away again. “Because, stupid, we have to get on his good side and he won’t like you being mean.” Hagrid was one of the nicest people and Albus knew from experience that he couldn’t stand bullies, and it didn’t help that he had known Mr. Malfoy.

Scorpious crossed his arms, frowning a little. “You really think he knows something about why Zabini is going into the Forest?” he asked.

Albus had, of course, told his friends and Rose (Sue Corner didn’t exactly count as a person even though she’d been there) when they all had been in Gryffindor Tower a few days ago. “I don’t think Madame Brown would have lied about it, she’d heard from Professor Longbottom.”

And he was still sniffing around too, waiting for them to do something they weren’t supposed to and Albus couldn’t wait until he gave it a rest. It wasn’t as if they were going to cause the destruction of the universe simply by walking down the corridor, though Scorpious had indeed blown up the Charms room yesterday, “And Hagrid knows about it too? I wonder what sort of lies Zabini told him,” Scorpious replied.

His moody blonde friend had never met Hagrid before but Albus had thought this himself. For some reason he couldn’t quite imagine Zabini getting the best of him but then again, there was no telling what the Potions teacher could or couldn’t do, he probably ate imps for breakfast. If he ate at all, “I don’t believe that Mr. Hagrid would help him if he knew he was doing something evil,” Lavender said firmly, defending her favorite teacher.

“You don’t even believe that Zabini is evil anymore anyway, Lav!” Scorpious snapped. Albus was reminded of the strange conversation that they’d had while he’d been in the hospital and the odd points Lavender had made about the murders. “You got a crush on him or something?”

Lavender flushed. “Don’t be stupid! Of course I don’t!” she shot Albus a shy glance from her veil of black hair and turned bright red (Scorpious nudged him sharply in the ribs and he punched him in the arm). “He’s not exactly my type.”

“So he’s got to be a two-headed piranha?” Scorpious asked dryly.

Albus laughed.

Lavender glared at them both. “You leave Sheriff out of this, Scorpious. You’re just mad because he’s a good pet and _you’re_ just mean.” She said and this had their blonde friend gaping in outrage even though Albus could tell that she was just teasing.

“Think I’m going to blast you to smithereens Lav?” Scorpious demanded hotly and a few Hufflepuff boys walking past nearly ran into the Great Hall. Albus rolled his eyes, “ever since that stupid Dueling Club everyone’s been acting like I’ll snap their necks.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t have said you’d kill Goyle then, Malfoy.” A new voice broke out and Albus groaned as Rose and Sue Corner, who’d spoken, walked down to them. They were both heavily dressed in scarves and hats, “and it’s not like anyone was thinking you were nice _before_.”

Albus scowled at her and then felt his lips twitching a bit at the sight of the scabs on her forehead and cheeks. “Not like you’re all that sweet and sugary either,” he found himself saying and she glared hatefully at him.

Scorpious and Rose were sending each other scathing looks as he replied. “It’s not like I meant it. I was just mad,” but he appeared regretful and Albus knew that it didn’t help with most of their House regarding him as if he were some mutant demon bent on eating human flesh.

That was what Zabini was for.

“You shouldn’t have said it at all, Malfoy. Hello, Patil,” Rose replied with a dignified sniff while nodding at Lavender, who smiled in a friendly way. “What if someone _does_ think it’s true?”

“And if they do?” Scorpious asked smartly.

Rose thought hard and folded her arms. “Well, with all the murders going on and what happened in the Dueling Club people are scared. They’ll believe anything,” she said and Albus had to agree with her. “My mum told me that everyone thought Uncle Harry was the Heir of Slytherin but it really just turned out to be Voldemort.”

Sue flinched a little. “ _Don’t_ say his name!”

“He’s dead and what’s dead is dead,” Lavender replied with an exasperated expression that mirrored the one Rose was giving Scorpious. “Unless, I guess if you’re _undead,_ which is a completely different—”

“ _Anyway_ ,” Albus interjected before she could go on. “Scorpious wouldn’t kill anyone, no matter what’s going on out there, Rose.” His cousin looked briefly ashamed of herself but her friend merely harrumphed. “And I think we have enough stuff to worry about.”

This was very true and that caused the others faces to become rather sober and serious. It was then though, that Goyle and a group of his friends walked by, each of them wearing freshly pressed Slytherin robes to match their nasty expressions, “Oh, _look_! It’s the Misfits and their entourage,” Goyle said with a leer.

“We don’t belong to _anyone’s_ entourage you big, fat—” Sue snarled and Albus and his friends gawped at the naughty, horrible words she used in between Rose trying to calm her down. Being tied in to the Misfits was far too horrifying he supposed.

Goyle was gawping at her and was about to say something more but he flicked his gaze at Lavender, who’s expression was rather hard and visibly blanched. He didn’t need to get into any more trouble anyway, from what Albus knew because Professor Chang was still making him do detentions and his parents had been notified of his behavior more than once. “Er, whatever. Let’s get out of here and leave the prince and his stupid friends alone,” he grumbled and he and his group wandered into the noisy Great Hall.

“ _Sue_! Haven’t you gotten into enough trouble with your mouth?” Rose asked her friend sharply while the other girl harrumphed and straightened her robes. Scorpious was gawping at her and Albus was inching towards Lavender, “Merlin, I swear you and Malfoy are _just_ alike!”

That had the two enemies crying. “ _We are not_!” and Albus laughed.

“Regardless, we should be going down to Hagrid’s don’t you think?” Rose asked importantly and they all nodded. Albus had sent him a letter and he’d happily gotten a response not even an hour or so earlier this morning (He’d been busy wrestling with giant flobber worms for the past few weeks) and he was thankful that today was Saturday and they didn’t have to worry about classes. “Come on then.” He heard his cousin snap while trumping to the entrance doors and flinging them open.

“She’s rather bossy don’t you think?” Lavender asked Albus with a dry expression. Sue Corner was up ahead but shot her a look over her shoulder, “no wonder she and Corner like one another.”

Scorpious sneered a little as they were hounded by the cold air and the dismal expanse of the grounds. Though it was afternoon, there was hardly any sunlight and it cast everything into blues and murky, dull greys, “They’re hags Lav. _That’s_ why they like one another.”

Albus shot him a teasing look. “It’s not _our_ fault you and Corner are alike you know.” That earned him a glare and a punch in the arm but they continued walking behind his cousin, grass and frost crunching eerily underneath their feet and making him think of little mice bones in the Owlery.

October had come with the force of a battering ram and the grounds of Hogwarts were icy, the leaves having vanished into a frightened puff of chilly wind and the Black Lake had frozen over. A cold wind blew and the group had to force their hats back on as they nearly flew off their heads and tumbled along the hard ground, “I hope Hagrid has some tea ready for us,” Albus heard Rose saying, her voice barely distinguishable over the roar.

Albus hoped so as well and kept his head down as they slowly made their way over the expanse of the grounds. Hills sloped and dipped and once or twice he saw James and Mason running around with ropes and bottles of some potion or another and decided that he didn’t want to know. His brother and his best friend merely ignored them, looking incredibly suspicious as they ran back towards the castle and he had a feeling that they’d probably get found out for whatever they’d done.

Albus was just wondering if they would be boiled alive in a big pot conveniently hidden in Zabini’s dungeon (Which looked like a torture chamber of course complete with wailing village maidens) when Scorpious asked Lavender. “So how’re things going on the Quidditch team?”

Lavender had practice before sunrise every other morning and Albus wasn’t sure how she did it when she had homework and classes. But she hardly ever complained and if he saw her with dark circles under her eyes, it was mostly due to her staying up later than usual either reading her sister’s Charms book or that moldy monster book she’d gotten from Rose and Sue Corner so long ago.

“It’s been all right. Victoire has been really intense lately because we’ve got a game coming up.” Lavender replied honestly.

“Against Hufflepuff?” Albus asked, though he had been following all of the Quidditch news daily. Everyone always got really excited about a game and Gryffindor had always been a hard team to beat, “are you nervous?”

Lavender thought about it, looking dreamy and far away and Scorpious pinched her nose until she swatted at him. Giving him a look, she replied to Albus, “I’m not _too_ nervous. I wrote my sister Angelina about it and she told me that I should have fun and not take it so seriously.”

Scorpious gawped. “But it _is_ serious! It’s Quidditch!”

Albus fervently agreed.

Before Lavender could say anything, Rose’s voice hissed ahead of them. “What are you three doing? Hurry up!” and they saw that she and her friend had walked on ahead without them.

They were only a few feet from Hagrid’s hut, which was a massive wood and stone structure that always reminded Albus of some fairy tale hideaway. Smoke was billowing pleasantly from the chimney and even from this distance he could see gigantic orange pumpkins scattered around, the other vegetables appearing like little dots.

Hagrid must have been growing them like this for weeks for the upcoming Halloween Feast and Albus wondered if he would let them help carve them. “No one is in a hurry, Weasley!” Scorpious snapped even though they sort of were.

“If you haven’t _noticed_ Malfoy, we have business! Hmf!” Rose cried loudly over the wind, turning her back on them. Sue Corner sent him a withering look and Albus rolled his eyes, wondering if he could somehow get rid of her by rolling a pumpkin over her.

The thought was oddly tempting.

Scorpious rolled his eyes as they watched Rose and Sue Corner stand in front of Hagrid’s door. Albus sighed and motioned for them to continue walking, the wind nearly throwing them back and onto the hard grass, “She’s like some horrible nightmare.” He heard his moody blonde friend say grumpily.

“Don’t be mean, Scorpious.” Lavender said warningly.

“You know I can’t stand her.” Scorpious spat back.

Albus intervened. “Just cause you don’t doesn’t mean that you have to be so nasty to her!” he had told Rose this sort of thing before as well and said with a frown. “Rose is probably still mad that you belong in Gryffindor and she doesn’t.”

Lavender was confused. “I thought she was happy about being in Ravenclaw now?”

“I think she is but that doesn’t mean that has to like that _Scorpious_ is in Gryffindor.” Albus pointed out fairly and Lavender thought about this, agreeing a little before he said to his other friend, “and she still owes you a favor since she lost the bet you two made remember?”

Scorpious smiled evilly and Lavender frowned as he said. “Oh, I remember and she’s going to hate every minute of it.” Albus was worried that he might make Rose jump around in her underwear or run around with a beehive on her head.

He would have asked him what he had in mind and made sure that neither of these things were about to happen but they were now standing with his cousin and her friend and Albus figured that it would be right to talk about it just now.

Rose gave them a level stare. “I was just going to knock,” she said impatiently and Albus and his friends exchanged exasperated looks. Sue Corner was looking as if she wanted to hit them all over the head and his eyes glanced to a pumpkin curiously, wondering if he had the strength to push it over her— “We’re going to have to be careful, okay? This is _Hagrid_. He’s our friend and we don’t want to hurt his feelings.”

“Of course we don’t! We’re just going to ask him about Zabini and see if he tells us anything.” Albus said with a determined nod. He didn’t like the idea of tricking Hagrid though and it must have shown on his face because his cousin suddenly appeared unsure and he said, “We can at least get some tea.”

“So knock on the door! It’s _freezing_!” Scorpious grumbled, glaring at Lavender as if she had somehow made the weather bad. She shot him an annoyed look, “I hope he has something to eat too, while we’re here.”

“You might not want any,” Rose said with troubled eyes.

Scorpious was about to ask what she meant by that even though Albus knew (His father and Uncle Ron had told him not to ever put his life at risk by eating one of Hagrid’s rock cakes) when the door opened. Hagrid dominated the doorway, towering over them in a furry vest, unruly wiry black hair and a friendly smile, “Though I ‘eard voices out here! Good ter see yeh all. Thought yeh forgotten about yer friend with all the excitement in the castle,”

Scorpious and Sue Corner had never been around Hagrid before (They saw him in the Great Hall but never really this close) so they were gawping up at him, eyes wide. Lavender looked simply thrilled and Rose replied while Albus got a heavy pat on the head, “We could never forget about _you_ Hagrid! We’ve missed you very much!” she said truthfully.

“Might as well get outta this cold then, I put a bit a tea on,” Hagrid said, looking embarrassed but very pleased. He stepped back and they all gratefully rushed inside into the smothering warmth of the hut, which was filled with some very interesting weapons and what suspiciously looked like a crate filled with chattering pixies.

They were making a bit of fuss and Albus thought they looked like menacing blueberries as he shrugged out of his coat and hung it up on a peg that Hagrid had thankfully made a lot shorter. “Don’t do anything stupid,” he hissed in a low whisper to his moody blonde friend when he stepped up to hang his coat.

“I’m not! Merlin, would you two lay off?” Scorpious spat back, frowning.

Albus took in the slightly worried look around his grey eyes. “Hagrid’s real nice, you don’t have to be nervous or anything.” He reassured as he unwound his scarf and draped it on the peg with his hat, “he’s not going to hate you.”

Scorpious looked as if he might say something to that but he noticeably relaxed and nodded. “He’s even bigger up close. My dad told me that he’s a wizard and his mum’s a giant right?”

Albus knew this was touchy territory. While the War was going on, a lot of giants had sided with Voldemort and his followers and attacked the castle and from what he knew, there were barely a handful of them left. They’d been dying out before then but the War itself had ravaged the few that had remained and survived while the others had either been killed, subdued by the Ministry or hidden away. “Yeah, it’s true,” he said defensively.

Scorpious appeared more curious than aghast, since giants were all supposed to be cruel, vicious beasts. It idly made him think about werewolves before he thought of Teddy Lupin’s father, who Albus had heard had been very nice, “That’s cool! I wish my mum were that interesting.” His moody blonde friend said.

Albus laughed. “What’s wrong with her now?”

“Nothing, but it’d be great if she could crush Benjamin under her shoe or something when he’s being mean to me.” Scorpious replied casually.

Before he could say something about this, Hagrid asked curiously from behind them, while the others chattered and warmed up. “What are yeh two talkin’ about over there? Not tryin’ ter come up with any bad business are yeh?”

“No!” Albus and Scorpious said as one.

Lavender giggled but Rose appeared slightly suspicious. “James comes in here to visit you all the time when he’s in trouble doesn’t he Hagrid?” she asked their friend, peering up at him from her mass of frizzy red hair. Her coat and things had been neatly placed behind one of his chairs, which were ten times bigger than any human man.

Hagrid nodded with a shake of his head. “Comes in here with that Mason Finnegan all the time hidin’ from that prefect, whatever his name,” he said idly.

“Louis?” Albus supplied.

“Yeah, that’s the one. Picks on him quite a bit ter be honest but I never let’em catch him when he comes knockin’ on my door.” Hagrid said with a prideful stance.

With all his cousins coming to and fro, Albus wasn’t surprised when he looked around to see some of their photos on the fireplace mantle. Some were even of his parents and grandparents and some people he didn’t know, “James gets into too much trouble if you ask me!” Rose said, sounding like her mother.

Scorpious gagged.

Hagrid laughed good-naturedly “Not as much as Roxanne. She tries ter keep things lively since Fred graduated last year,” he said, naming their older cousins and making Albus wonder what sort of pranks they’d gotten into.

Rose shook her head at Scorpious’s suddenly lovesick expression. Sue Corner was raising her upper lip at him in disgust but Lavender appeared amused, “Well, she’s just like Uncle George and Aunt Angie doesn’t help either. They _like_ that she gets into trouble,” she said, sounding confused as to why they would be proud of the fact that their daughter probably got an owl sent home every week.

“Nothin’ wrong with a little prank every now and then, Rose. ‘Specially with what the Daily Prophet’s been pouring out,” Hagrid said gravely, the words making Albus feel slightly uncomfortable. It brought to mind all of the things that they were here to find out and he felt like the lowliest mortal for trying to trick his friend.

Lavender piped up before Rose could plow on. “We get into a lot of pranks in the castle Hagrid! Scorpious blows up the Charms room all the time!” she said happily.

“Lav!” Scorpious spat, flushing while Albus laughed.

Sue Corner quickly destroyed him by saying. “And you can’t seem to make anything other than panties in Transfiguration, Potter. Don’t look too happy,” Rose shot her a glance.

Hagrid was too busy laughing, not looking very sympathetic in Albus’s opinion and he frowned. Lavender was appearing as dreamy and happy as ever though and it seemed to infuriate their moody blonde friend, “Good ter see yeh again Lavender. How’s yer piranha?” he asked Lavender curiously as she folded her coat over a massive chair in the corner.

Scorpious frowned and opened his mouth to say something about this just as Lavender replied with a warning glance in his direction. “Sheriff is doing really well Mr. Hagrid! I think he sometimes misses all his brothers and sisters though.” She said worriedly and Albus wondered if he’d eaten them all before he noticed that Sue and Rose had wandered over to a massive fish tank in the corner of the room.

A fire was crackling happily in the hearth and a large, ancient boarhound was lying on a rug, not paying them any attention. When Albus walked over to see what his cousin and friend were doing, the dog raised his head, showing nearly blind eyes and stood on shaking legs to follow, “What on earth are these?” Rose asked Hagrid, appalled.

Hagrid was taking the teapot and various dishes towards a round wooden table, looking pleased to have company. Scorpious eyed him apprehensively as he caught his attention, “More two-headed piranhas, I was thinkin’ of puttin’ them in the Black Lake with the giant squid’s babies,” he explained.

Albus wondered why he and Lavender seemed to find these dangerous monsters so adorable and shuddered. If there were more two-headed piranhas floating around in the Black Lake then he would never, ever find himself taking a morning swim while at Hogwarts and saw Sue Corner raise her upper lip. “That would be so nice. I bet they would all get along,” Lavender said to Hagrid with a beaming smile that made Albus think about kittens and rainbows.

Wondering where his little friend got her happiness from, Albus and the ancient boarhound, stood looking at the piranha. Hagrid had them in a murky looking tank filled with Black Lake water, weeds and what suspiciously looked like chicken bones while the terrors floated around. They weren’t very big and probably the ugliest things that he had ever seen but they regarded _him_ with slightly narrowed eyes as if they didn’t find him all that attractive either.

“Think I might have’em in the Black Lake by the end of the year, Lavender. You should bring yer piranha with you so he can say goodbye to his family,” Hagrid advised, looking truly concerned on Sheriff’s behalf.

Albus thought that they were both mental but Lavender went into a long debate on whether or not to find something suitable for Sheriff to wear (He wasn’t sure how she would be able to do this) and tuned them out. When he glanced back at Scorpious, he was looking between them in complete bewilderment and he stifled a laugh and turned back to the piranha, watching them gnawing and snapping.

Rose was rather pale and Sue Corner had turned away with a grimace. “When was the last time that you fed these Hagrid?” Albus heard his cousin ask while he watched in grim fascination as a group of the beasts startled circling a rather scrawny one hungrily.

“Just a bit before yeh all came,” Hagrid answered, sounding pleased with himself before going back to his conversation with a chattering Lavender.

“You don’t feed them _yourself_ do you Hagrid?” Albus asked worriedly.

Lavender was giving Scorpious a warning look as he started to sneak over to the tank, a sneaky look on his face. “You leave them alone!” she hissed.

“Let me make faces at them!” Scorpious said in a huff.

Albus rolled his eyes at their bickering, noticing that Hagrid looked very amused as he watched them. “So, erm, Hagrid, you don’t feed them yourself do you?” he asked again, directing his attention back to him.

“Course I do! How else would I feed’em?” Hagrid asked lightly and it was just then that Albus noticed that his fingers were all bandaged up. Scorpious, finished with arguing Lavender (He’d tugged on her hair quite a bit) tried to avoid him as he walked towards the piranha tank but was caught by the back of his robes, “yer that Malfoy boy aren’t yeh?”

Scorpious struggled furiously. “Yeah, what of it?!” he demanded, panicked.

Albus rushed over to see what the problem was but was surprised when Hagrid barked with laughter. It made the entire hut shake and Lavender stared at a crossbow with far too much interest as it wobbled off a neighboring wall, “Neville told me yeh’ve got an attitude but yeh’ve been good to this lot, haven’t yeh?” Hagrid asked, releasing him.

Scorpious glanced at Rose and Sue Corner with barely concealed disgust before hastily nodding. He smoothed out his robes grumpily, “Yeah,” he muttered up at him, craning his neck. “Albus and Lavender are my friends.”

“Good ter see yer not like yer dad. He used to bully Harry and his friends a lot when they went here,” Hagrid said with some sort of memory flickering in his eyes before he smiled down at Scorpious, who frowned. “But that was a long time ago, yeh be who yeh want to be.”

Albus thought this was very good advice but Scorpious merely snorted and folded his arms stubbornly. Rose asked Hagrid curiously, “Did our parents come to see you a lot when they were here?” she had removed her coat. Sue was warily moving towards the table and shooting Lavender, who was idly staring at a crossbow with disdain, “I’d visit all the time but we’ve been getting so much homework.”

Hagrid nodded a little with a smile coming into his face. “Had a lot of conversations with yer parents when they were yer age,” Rose appeared rather pleased as their friend motioned for them all to sit down. Lavender turned away from the crossbow with a reluctant sigh and seated herself beside Scorpious, who smiled smugly at Albus when he realized that he would be stuck sitting beside Sue Corner.

It figured.

Rose was beside Hagrid as he filled chipped teacups with hot, steaming tea that made the air warm and pleasant. Noticing a few other plates on the table, Albus spotted that little brown things were cooling and he recoiled privately even as Scorpious reached for one and munched on it. He thought he heard a crack, “So, what have you been up to Hagrid?” Albus asked hastily over Scorpious’s outraged grumbles.

Lavender rammed her elbow into his ribs.

Sue Corner took a cup from Rose and sent Albus a dark expression as he accidentally bumped against her arm. “Been busy with the pumpkins out there fer Halloween mostly.” Hagrid replied with a proud glimmer in his black eyes.

“Will you let us carve them with you, Hagrid?” Albus asked eagerly.

“Roxanne and yer brother were thinkin’ of blowin’ some up.” Hagrid said with a laugh and Albus thought that it oddly sounded like fun. “But I’ll let yeh have a small one ter carve, yeh probably won’t cause too much trouble.”

If only he knew, Albus thought. “You’ve heard all about how much stuff they get into didn’t you, Hagrid?” Rose asked him after taking a sip of her tea. Scorpious was now looking down at the rock cake in his hand with a slight tear of pain in his eye and Lavender was giving him a sympathetic look, “and _Albus_ was in the hospital!”

Hagrid had been pleasantly sipping his tea and regarding them all with affection that made Albus feel sort of shamed for coming here trying to interrogate him. “I ‘eard all about that from Neville!” he said with a widening of his eyes. “Yeh all right Albus?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Albus replied honestly. He didn’t have any bandages around his head anymore and the curse that Goyle had shot at him hadn’t really left a mark thanks to Madame Brown’s diligent care, “that stupid Goyle shot me in the face!”

Scorpious nodded firmly. “He made a _mess_ of the Dueling Club,” he was holding his jaw while he spoke and the words came out a bit garbled.

Sue Corner asked dryly. “I thought that was _you_?” Rose sent her a warning look just as Lavender’s eyes narrowed. Scorpious frowned meanly, “if _you_ hadn’t lost your temper, you wouldn’t have gotten into that fight!”

“Shut up! You’re just mad because you’ve got those nasty scars all over your face!” Scorpious spat back hotly and Albus snorted into his tea. Folding his arms and nudging Lavender roughly as he did so, he continued, “I wasn’t going to just stand there and let that git talk about my family!”

Sue glared at him, a bit of color flooding into her face. It made the scars on her face stand out a bit more and Albus could detect the faint odor of smelly feet, “Maybe you should have thought of the fact that _you_ could have gotten people hurt firing hexes everywhere!”

Scorpious glanced at Albus guiltily. “If you’re talking about yourself, I don’t really think you _count_ as a person!” he countered and just as the girl was about to open her mouth to say something to that, Hagrid thumped his large hand on the table for silence.

It nearly threw them all out of their seats.

“That’s enough outta yeh! I ‘eard about what happened in the Dueling Club, it was an _accident_.” Hagrid said firmly and while Albus agreed with him, he couldn’t help but think that it had been Goyle’s fault for being such a prat. Rose was appearing nervous and Lavender was lightly nibbling on a rock cake (Albus wondered how she was doing it but didn’t say anything), “I didn’t think it was that best of an idea meself with Smith bein’ the one teachin’ yeh.”

Albus had to nod his head in agreement. “He can’t teach _anything_ ,” he said with a roll of his eyes and Lavender giggled privately to herself. Scorpious and Sue Corner were still glaring at one another, “it was a real waste of time and the classes are so boring now.”

Lavender finished eating her rock cake and reached for another, which made Hagrid smile happily. Feeling bad, Albus reached for one too and, praying that he would have all of his teeth after putting it into his mouth, he took a hesitant bite, “We don’t really do much now, just talk about the vampire. I’m pretty sure they’re not going to let us practice on each other anymore.”

Hagrid finished his tea and set it down on the table, looking as if something had sparked in his mind. Albus was worried that he had broken his jaw but tried to swallow, hoping that he didn’t appear too pained, “They just want ter be careful. Awful things happenin’ out there with them kids yeh know,”

Rose shot Albus a look before she went on, carefully smiling up at Hagrid and asking. “What do _you_ think it is, Hagrid? I mean, it’s not _really_ a vampire is it?” He could hear his cousin’s true fear in her voice and felt a moment of concern that what they’d thought before was wrong.

Hagrid hesitated and Albus felt a prickling at the back of his neck but it might have been from Sue shifting in her seat and brushing her shoulder against his. Spiders danced along his skin, “Not sure what ter tell yeh about it, Rose. Don’ know much about it meslef,”

“But you talk to our parents all the _time_ don’t you? You have to know something about what’s going on!” Rose cried, aghast that he couldn’t share valuable information with her of all people. Albus wondered vaguely if their parents had sworn him not to tell a thing and he saw Hagrid’s eyes shift a little, confirming this, “We’re really worried about it.”

“Everyone thinks I’m going to get eaten,” Scorpious said with a dark look as he lowered his hand from what looked like a bruised jaw. Lavender stood, reached for the teapot and poured him another cup and he shot her a glance but said nothing, “They think that vampire is going to find me and kill me, just like it did all the other kids.”

Hagrid frowned at this and Albus knew that he couldn’t stand the thought of anyone getting hurt. He had been at the Battle of Hogwarts as well so he understood the sort of fear that was brimming, “Yeh shouldn’t listen ter all them kids up at the castle. People say stupid things outta fear,” Scorpious considered this as he stared into his steaming teacup. “That thing that’s out there is goin’ ter be caught with Harry lookin’ into it.”

Albus wanted to believe this but he felt a wave of unease go through him nonetheless and was about to take another bite out of his rock cake when he felt something heavy land on his lap. Jumping, the rock cake flew out of his hand and he let out a yelp of surprise, “What’s wrong with you Potter?” Sue demanded furiously, reeling away.

“Something’s on my lap!” Albus said in a panic while looking down. To his embarrassment, it was only Hagrid’s old boarhound drooling copiously on his robes and he felt his cheeks heating, “erm, it’s nothing.”

Hagrid laughed and Sue rolled her eyes a little. “Fang gettin’ ter know yeh better that’s all. Don’t mind him,” he said while Albus patted the beast on the head idly with his fingers, “bit jumpy aren’t yeh, Albus?”

“I can’t help but be. Something bad happens to me every time I wake up,” Albus replied honestly while Sue looked as if she thought it were funny. He sent her a glare before saying to Hagrid, “I can’t do anything right and I’m failing Potions.”

Hagrid appeared thoughtful for a moment before he said. “Yer dad wasn’t too good at Potions either. Snape was a hard teacher to please,” there was a faint smile on his face though while he said it and to Albus’s surprise he mentioned, “Professor Zabini is a lot like him from what I’m able ter see,”

Rose seemed to take this upon herself to ask him. “What do you know about Professor Zabini Hagrid? How long has he been working here?” she tried to sound innocent but there was an obvious gleam of slyness in her eyes. This of course was the information that they had come here for, “he doesn’t seem to like anyone much.”

“Don’ know much about him ter be honest. Started workin’ here a little while after Professor Slughorn finally retired, he was gettin’ on in years yeh know,” Hagrid replied while Albus reached for another rock cake the same time Lavender did. He rammed Sue in the ribs and she reluctantly snatched one and carefully nibbled on it, looking pained, “Professor Zabini likes ter keep things private.”

Lavender questioned him curiously. “He and Professor Longbottom get along don’t they? I see them talking a lot.” Albus wasn’t sure if she were lying or not but the fact that the Herbology teacher knew he was going into the Forest wasn’t exactly false.

Hagrid thrummed his fingers on the table, looking slightly anxious. Albus sensed that he was hiding very valuable information, “Never been too friendly with one another if yeh ask me, though. Neville’s only been talkin’ ter him recently ever since that accident last year,”

Rose leaped on the information like a wild dog even though Albus had already told her about what Madame Brown had revealed. “What sort of accident?”

“A bad sort that left Professor Zabini real torn up,” Hagrid replied carefully while studying their suddenly rapt expressions. Suspicion gleamed in his eyes, “yeh all aren’t up ter somethin’ yeh shouldn’t be are yeh?”

Albus and his friends were determined not to exchange obvious looks at the accusation but the truth was more than apparent. “No, we’re just…curious.” He said lamely and Hagrid looked completely unconvinced.

Lavender bit on her lower lip for a moment and said to Hagrid. “We saw Professor Zabini going into the Forbidden Forest a while ago,” everyone gawped at her in both surprise and horror. “We were wondering what he goes in there for and then we uhm, overheard,” she dodged Scorpious’s elbow into her ribs smoothly even though Albus would have fallen out of his chair, “that Professor Zabini goes into the Forest for Wolfsbane,”

“ _Overheard_ all that did yeh?” Hagrid asked with the same suspicious look at the five of them. Rose was looking as if something had exploded in her brain and Sue Corner was sending Lavender murderous glares that merely had Albus’s friend staring blankly at her in return, “I hope yeh all aren’t pokin’ yer noses into anyone’s business,” he said warningly and Albus flinched a little with guilt.

Scorpious glared at Lavender and tugged on her hair for a moment before noticing Hagrid’s disapproving stare and releasing her. She rubbed her head, “We just want to know what he goes in there for! Aren’t there all sorts of monsters and stuff living in the Forest?”

Albus felt the lie flying off his tongue before he could stop himself. “And he’s my… favorite teacher. I worry that he’ll get, uhm, you know, hurt and stuff,” he said while Lavender and Scorpious gawped at him in astonishment.

Rose and Sue Corner had paled.

Hagrid appeared incredibly doubtful about this but Albus held his breath, feeling his face turning redder and redder as his family friend finally said. “Well, I don’ know what he needs Wolfsbane fer, it’s more like a poison from what Neville told me. But he asked that I go in and talk ter the centaurs for Professor Zabini after that last incident,”

“What last incident?” Rose demanded even though they already knew.

Hagrid hesitated for a moment, poured himself a bit more tea and then took a leisurely drink of it. After setting it back down with a surprisingly delicate clink, Albus let out his breath and listened to him say, “The centaurs are a superstitious lot already but all these murders ‘ave them a little nervous. When I talked to’em a while after Professor Zabini got shot with an arrow,”

“Ha!” Scorpious said triumphantly, as if this were the greatest news in the universe. Lavender rammed her elbow into his ribs and stuffed a rock cake into his mouth before he could say anything else.

Hagrid continued on as if they hadn’t interrupted him. “I walked in ter talk to them about that, sayin’ that they couldn’ be shootin’ at the teachers. Firenze, one of their herd leaders told me that times are too dangerous fer anyone, teacher or not ter be in the Forest.”

Rose asked worriedly. “How come? Is it because of the giant spiders?” Albus could only imagine how horrible running into one of those could be. “I thought there weren’t any more in there.”

“There’re a couple,” Hagrid said evasively and Albus had a feeling that he knew all too well how many of them there were. His disdain for the Forbidden Forest increased drastically, “anyhow, I asked Firenze what he meant by that and he said that there was evil comin’. They could see it in the stars formin’,”

That didn’t bode very well and Albus wondered if that evil were really Zabini himself and his murderous friend out there. A chill seemed to descend onto his skin and settle into his bones, “What sort of evil?” he found himself asking.

“Didn’ say, now did he? Could mean nothin’, could mean somethin’. Hard to tell with the centaurs, yeh know.” Hagrid replied honestly, though he appeared slightly troubled as his thoughts continued to spin. “Firenze did say that he was worried about the state of the castle,”

Lavender was smacking Scorpious on the back while he nearly choked on the rock cake but managed to ask, over his hacking and gagging. “What do they mean? There’s nothing wrong with the wards on the school I hope.”

Hagrid appeared slightly uncomfortable. “Well, there was one thing,” he said and Albus and the others piqued with grim interest. “Professor Finch-Fletchley was tellin’ me that someone’s been sneakin’ in there, other than Professor Zabini I think and tearin’ down some of the spells. Might be some kid just messin’ around but I was asked to keep a close eye out, just in case someone came at night, pokin’ their heads around.”

This was very troubling news. Albus wondered if Zabini was not only looking for the Wolfsbane but making gradual gaps in the wards to allow his friend in and if the creature wasn’t a vampire…. “Hey, Hagrid, werewolves are alive right?” he asked his friend.

Hagrid nodded, looking confused on why that seemed to suddenly matter to him so much and Albus felt a cold wash of panic go over him. “There hasn’t been any werewolves round these parts in years. They didn’ fight in the War, except for that Greyback and he’s been dead for a long time now,” he said to them, staring at their wide eyed faces worriedly. “Speakin’ of, there haven’t been any vampires in Britain from what I know in a long time. Odd that one would suddenly come up now startin’ trouble.”

“Why would it? I mean, they don’t really hate the Ministry do they?” Rose asked while looking down into what had to be cold tea. Sue Corner was gnawing on her nails a little, appearing lost in thought or just wishing she were elsewhere, “my mum said that she had them put under a Protected Species Act so people wouldn’t kill them.”

Albus knew that his Aunt Hermione had done a lot of things in the Ministry but she was rather adamant about magical creatures having more rights. Goblins and house-elves were what she spoke about mostly but he was sure that vampires and even werewolves fell into her line of justice, “Yer mum is tryin’ her best, Rose but a lot of people don’ want ter let some of the old laws go.” Hagrid said and he watched her face pinch with annoyance, not quite understanding, “that vampire that’s out there, I’ve been thinkin’ that it might be a rogue, not belongin’ to anythin’ and just tryin’ to make people afraid.”

Albus wanted to believe this but he had a feeling that it wasn’t at all true and he stroked Fang’s ears distractedly. The boarhound had fallen asleep on his lap and drool was making a rather large stain on his robes that he didn’t think he would be able to get out with just water, “Why would they want to do that? People are already afraid,” Scorpious asked annoyingly. He had stopped hacking and coughing up the rock cake and Lavender was appearing relieved, “they still think Voldemort’s followers are gonna rise up any minute and kill us all.”

“Been a long time but that hardly matters to some people,” Hagrid replied, looking as if he agreed and doubted at the same time. It had been nearly twenty years since Voldemort had been killed and the peace that had settled over the Wizarding world would be easy to break down if these current murders continued. “Doesn’ take much to frighten people. That’s how the Second War got so outta control fer a while,”

An uncomfortable and heavy silence fell at the end of these words and Albus felt his brain throbbing painfully. There was so much that he was confused over and so little time before Halloween, “Hagrid, have you heard about Patil getting on the Gryffindor Quidditch team? They have a game coming up,” Rose said, desperately trying to change the subject.

Hagrid snapped out of his own thoughts and said with a little smile in Lavender’s direction that caused her to blush furiously. “Neville told me all about yer Neon Star!” he exclaimed excitedly and she looked as if she wanted to sink into the floor while Scorpious sent Rose a smug glance that made her frown furiously. “Nervous about yer firs’ game?”

“Maybe a little. I don’t think I’m all that good,” Lavender replied and Sue Corner looked as if she wanted to say something to that and Albus shot her a menacing look. Scorpious and Rose were still glaring at one another, “I wish I could talk to someone older about it.”

“Why don’t you write one of my cousins? I’m sure one of them was a Chaser.” Albus said helpfully. He gratefully came out of his troubled thoughts and thought about the fact that he couldn’t worry about it too much when there was nothing to be done about it just now, “and your sister played Quidditch didn’t she?”

Lavender nodded, still appearing bashful while Hagrid beamed at her. “She did but I don’t want to disappoint her.” She muttered.

Rose glared at Scorpious furiously before turning her attention to her with a kind smile that made her look a lot more likable. “I’m sure you’ll do fine, Patil. We’ll be cheering you on from the Ravenclaw stands,” she nudged Sue, who rolled her eyes but said nothing.

“Hufflepuff doesn’t stand a chance!” Scorpious said smugly.

Albus pointed out dryly. “ _Roxanne_ is on the team. She’s a Beater.” Scorpious appeared tormented and despite the lighter conversation, he felt that bit of unsettling doom settle happily onto his shoulders.

 


	15. Sneak and Rescue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Misfits go over some things that they have learned from Hagrid, only to notice that Zabini is missing, yet again, from dinner. When Albus, shockingly comes up with an idea to both get some questions answered and go into a dangerous place, the risk might be more than they can take.

Chilly winds blew and frozen grass crunched in protest as Albus and the group found themselves heading back to Hogwarts a few minutes later, their bodies shivering and their teeth chattering. The walk back seemed to take longer than he would have thought and he glanced over his shoulder, wanting to go back to Hagrid's hut and spend the night there if it would stop him from having to deal with this horrible weather.

As he watched a gentle smoke billowing out of the chimney, his eyes unwillingly strayed towards the skeletal shapes of the Forbidden Forest. It seemed to stretch endlessly on around the grounds of the school and even from this distance, he could practically feel the haunting essence of the place. Though he couldn't hear anything moving around from where he stood, he knew that there were all sorts of horrors lurking in the darkness there, probably things that he would never want to face.

Just the sight of the place, even from this distance made the small hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Although he knew that Hagrid could handle himself more effectively than he could, Albus was still a little uneasy about the thought of anyone going in there alone, and especially at night. No matter the risk, Albus couldn't quite imagine what could possess anyone to enter the place and not just Zabini, but the person taking down the wards.

Why would anyone do that? Hagrid's words about fear rang in his ears still and he felt a bite of anger at the mysterious person, wondering who they thought they were to be stirring up trouble. But aside from that, Albus couldn't wrap his mind around why Zabini would willingly risk his undead life to wander in there, why the Wolfsbane mattered to him so much.

It seemed like the acts of a desperate man and Albus wondered vaguely if perhaps the Potions Master really _was_ intent on gathering the herb for evil, devious purposes that included mutilating children. When his father had told them about the War and that awful night that Hogwarts had been attacked, he had said that people who didn't appear to do evil things usually were the ones that did.

Albus wasn't certain he really knew what that meant but it made the strange chill around him intensify and he wasn't sure what was real and what was a lie. Everything that they had learned about Zabini seemed to be missing some vital piece of information that he couldn't wrap his mind around no matter how hard he tried.

It actually sort of hurt and there was no way that he would survive his OWLs in a few years in this condition (Someone like Rose and Lavender would breeze through them while he and Scorpious failed miserably).

The truth about Zabini and whatever he was doing nagged at him though and he wasn't quite sure what they had missed in their snooping. Halloween would have to come by a lot sooner if they actually suspected that they would get any answers instead of more twists, turns and pink panties.

Thinking that he would most likely be making more pink panties for the rest of the year, he barely heard Lavender ask worriedly over the wind. “Albus what are you doing? Did you forget something at Mr. Hagrid's?”

Snapping out of his thoughts (And wondering if Peeves was still collecting his panties from Transfiguration), Albus turned and saw that his two friends were standing a few feet from him, looking concerned. Rose and Sue Corner were walking determinedly up ahead and he could see the bounce of his cousin's red hair even from here, “Its nothing, I was just thinking,” he said as he started walking again.

Scorpious's lips were turning blue but he managed to ask him as they forced their feet forward over the grounds. “About what?” when Albus didn't answer him fast enough, still trying to find out he best answer to their problems, his moody blonde friend went on in a drawling voice, “about how we really didn't _learn_ anything? Oh, yeah, I noticed that too.”

Lavender shot him an irritable look and said with a glance at Albus. “I don't think that's true.” Scorpious reached out to tug her hair but she smacked at his hand sharply until he was left rubbing it and looking sour. “Mr. Hagrid didn't seem to know too much about what was happening himself,”

“Well, he knew about Zabini going into the Forest didn't he? But that's something we already knew,” Albus replied, watching as his breath formed a little ice cloud in front of him before vanishing. “And he told us about Zabini's accident.”

Scorpious kicked at a rock that had dared to cross his path and Albus watched it soar through the darkening sky like a brown Quaffle. “What sort of accident do you think it was?”

Lavender was appearing thoughtful as Albus asked them both. “Maybe its why he's going in for the Wolfsbane? Maybe he got attacked by a werewolf, do you think?” he was either getting it for himself or for his murdering friend and he'd like to know the truth sooner or later.

“He'd have to have a bite for that to be true, or a scratch or something. And he's never been out of school on the full moon,” Lavender said simply, although Scorpious didn't look too convinced. “I've been reading up about werewolves for a while and I just don't think Zabini is one.”

Scorpious rolled his eyes heavenward, “So what do you think he is? Like an undead monster intent on devouring us whole?” he asked and Albus snorted with laughter. Rose and Sue Corner were so far up ahead that he doubted if they could even hear them now, “We already know that, Lav,”

Though Lavender smiled, she appeared a little distracted. “Didn't you find it really weird that the centaurs didn't want him in the Forest?”

“Maybe they're just protecting their territory?” Albus suggested, recalling a time when his Aunt Hermione had told him that she and his father had been captured by the creatures a long time ago. “They're awfully touchy about that sort of thing,”

Scorpious nodded a little. “And Zabini's so sneaky, maybe they thought he was trying to hurt them.” Albus could somehow picture the man wringing the necks of the centaurs and shuddered a little, “why else wouldn't they want him in there?”

“You two didn't really think it weird about how they said evil was coming? I think that's a little more suspicious than Zabini right now.” Lavender said seriously and Albus had tried to block out what Hagrid had told them, thinking that he had enough things to worry about just now. “Its not _just_ Zabini going into the Forest,”

“Hagrid said its probably just some kid trying to start up trouble,” Scorpious said with a shrug. “Sounds like something Albus's brother and that friend of his would do,” he said and Albus doubted that the pair was that stupid.

Lavender sighed irritably. “They're only second years, you'd have to know some pretty advanced magic to take down the spells over Hogwarts. When our parents were going to school here, they didn't have wards in the Forbidden Forest,”

Scorpious asked dryly. “How do you know this?”

There was a slight smile. “I've been reading A Revised Hogwarts a History with Weasley in the library,” Lavender said simply. Albus had usually been too preoccupied with doodling on his parchment to pay them much attention when they did this, “and anyway, her mum wrote it and she's really smart.”

“And?” Scorpious asked sourly.

Lavender shot him a look. Albus rolled his eyes, “Anyway, Mrs. Weasley was saying that not having the wards in the Forest made it easier for the Death Eaters to come so close to Hogwarts before they attacked. So when they were rebuilding it after the Battle, they made sure to make a truce I guess with the centaurs to build up the wards in it.”

Albus could understand why they would do something like that of course, so no one else would have the opportunity for surprise and hurt the children again. It made something bitter come into his stomach for the ones that had died so long ago but he pushed it aside for now, “So what are you thinking about the person taking them down?”

“Well, if its true and I believe Mr. Hagrid when he says that someone's been going around doing it, then it has to either be a teacher or an older student.” Lavender replied with a furrowed brow. Scorpious tweaked her nose and she smacked at him until he let her go, “but I don't know _why_ they would want to take the wards down.”

“Maybe its Zabini. Maybe he's going in for Wolfsbane and making a gap in the wards for his friend,” Scorpious suggested with a frown.

Albus didn't really like that idea. “Or it might not be anything at all. Probably just some stupid kid thinking that they're smarter than what they are.” He said and Lavender sort of nodded but he had a feeling that she didn't really believe that, “and anyway, don't we have enough to worry about? I'm sure the teachers can find out who _that_ person is,”

“I guess but while we were at Mr. Hagrid's, I was thinking about a lot of stuff, aside from Sheriff saying goodbye to his family and everything.” Lavender said with a sad little sigh that had them rolling their eyes. “I was more worried about what Mr. Hagrid _couldn't_ tell us,”

Scorpious was silent for a moment, glaring at the ground for its sheer audacity to be there before he asked. “What do you mean?” they had wasted the remainder of their time at Hagrid's talking about her upcoming Quidditch game and Albus was more than certain that that wasn't what was making her frown so much right now.

“I _mean_ that there's a lot more going on that we're not paying attention to.” Lavender replied calmly, looking as if she were deeply confused. “I was thinking about what Mr. Hagrid was saying about fear, and how people like to use it and, well, I'm thinking that these murders are probably just the start.”

Albus didn't think that her mind was actually as rainbow filled as she liked to let on and he pushed that thought aside for later. More unease seemed to slither down his back but it might have been another cold wind and he wasn't certain any longer on what was what, “So, you think that there's something worse going on?” he asked, not even fully comprehending something that terrible.

Lavender furrowed her brow for a moment as if gathering her thoughts and she eventually said. “It just doesn't make any sense to me. Why would someone choose this specific moment to start killing Death Eater kids?” she glanced at Scorpious warily and when he said nothing, even though his lips tightened, she went on, “right at the moment that Scorpious would have been coming to school, the first few murders started.”

Albus remembered that she had spoken about this before when he had been in the hospital, her doubt making him question all that they had suspected. He had to admit that it was suspicious but he couldn't understand where she could be going with this, “It is really weird, Lav, but its probably just a coincidence.”

“The Daily Prophet was trying to claim that my dad had something to do with the murders and the killer probably figured it'd take the blame off of them if they started killing around when I'd come here.” Scorpious said and his tone was so icy that Albus wondered if he'd frozen over.

Lavender appeared as if she were running that over in her mind but she didn't appear convinced. “That could be true but your dad isn't suspected of doing any of this anymore.” She said with a trace of relief, “I didn't think that he'd ever do something like that.”

Scorpious frowned and glared at her. “Of _course_ he wouldn't! I won't say that my dad is the greatest person ever but he's not a killer.” When he glanced at Albus, he was able to detect that ever-present shame that seemed to simmer beneath his moods, “everyone had just wanted to put the blame on him because they didn't know what was going on.”

That was most likely true and Albus had been told by his parents and other relatives not to trust the Prophet too deeply. Though there hadn't been anymore murders, the fear that was circulating was still enough to make a few front page stories and he felt a wave of disgust go into his system at how callous they were, “My dad and Uncle Ron are working on it but I don't know if they'll figure it out anytime soon,” Albus found himself admitting.

“I wish that they would.” Lavender said softly and she was silent for a while longer before she continued on with a glance at both of them. “But I really do think we're missing something when it comes to Zabini.”

Scorpious snorted. “Like what? Its not _our_ fault he doesn't have a soul.” Albus laughed and Lavender merely rolled her eyes a little. “He's helping that thing out there somehow, what else do you need to know?”

Lavender sighed. “I want to know what he needs the Wolfsbane for, how he's sending messages to his friend without getting caught and if he really _is_ a monster, which I doubt.”

“Because you're in love with him?” Scorpious asked dryly as they finally saw the brightly lit structure of Hogwarts looming up ahead. The sight of it hurried their steps and they were soon slipping and sliding up the entryway steps until they were thankfully back inside, where it was toasty and almost abnormally warm.

Chatter was bouncing in every direction as students wandered towards the Great Hall, where the delicious scents of a fine meal was already wafting temptingly from the kitchens.

The moving staircases creaked, Peeves was giving some poor Gryffindor boy a wedgie and all seemed to be the same, though Albus doubted if he would always feel this way about it when he couldn't wait to go home for the holidays. There was only so much torture a person could go through every day after all, “I'm _not_ in love with Zabini!” Lavender managed to cry after they'd gotten a bit of color into their cheeks.

“Sure you're not Lav,” Scorpious said dryly, rolling his eyes. Lavender glowered up at him and Albus saw that their moody blonde friend appeared far too pleased with himself just then, “you'd better stay focused too cause you've got a game coming up and you can't get all lovestruck with Zabini in the crowd.”

Lavender gawped, blushing. “Who says that he even _likes_ Quidditch?” she demanded and when they burst out laughing, she huffed a little and asked nervously, “will you two be rooting for me? I really don't want to disappoint the team.”

“You'll do fine, Lav,” Albus assured her as they removed their hats, scarves and mitts to stuff them into their coats. “You're a really good Chaser and you've got a Neon Star so there's no way you can lose!” he said proudly.

Lavender looked a lot more confident even though Scorpious tugged on her hair and told her she had better not fall off her broom. After swatting him away, they made their way into the Great Hall, breathing in the various scents of a good meal waiting to come, “Aside from the game, we really _do_ need to come up with a plan with Corner and Weasley soon for Halloween,” she whispered.

Scorpious looked ill at the very thought and Albus glanced around and saw that his cousin and her friend were already seated at the Ravenclaw table. They were whispering to one another and looking awfully serious and he hastily looked away in case they got up to talk to them, “And speaking of Halloween, where's Zabini?” Albus heard his moody blonde friend ask warily.

They were heading towards the Gryffindor table now and as he followed his friend's eyes, he noticed that the staff table was rather empty. Hagrid usually took up more space than humanly possible but he was nowhere to be seen and it was odd when dinner was about to start but even stranger, Zabini wasn't in his usual throne of bones.

“Where do you think they are?” Lavender asked worriedly as they finally sat down, briefly saying hello to James and Mason as they inclined their heads at them.

Albus felt his lips tightening a little and he leaned in, nearly colliding his forehead against Scorpious's as he did so and saying. “I think I know. Where else would he be at night?”

“The Forest,” Scorpious said without hesitation. The three of them shared a look, mixed panic and fear for Hagrid weighing in on their rapid curiosity before his friend finally said, “do you suppose Hagrid will come back in one piece?”

“I'm sure he will, don't say that!” Lavender cried, sounding panicked.

Albus had faith in his friend of course but it still didn't make the twisting feeling in his stomach lessen. “The only way to make sure is if we go into the Forest and find out for ourselves.”

Scorpious and Lavender stared at him as if they hadn't heard him correctly but Albus didn't repeat the words, only told them that they would snatch up his Cloak, knowing that some truths were worth the risk.

 

X

“You're _mental_ ,” Scorpious whispered in a sharp hiss for the thousandth time as the two of them clumsily slipped out of their four-poster beds shortly after curfew. Chris Finnegan and Elliot Thomas were asleep, snoring their lives away and Albus glared around at the sound of his friend's voice before turning away. He already knew that it was a crazy, stupid idea that would probably get them into more trouble than they had ever been in before but he had made up his mind.

Hagrid was out there in the Forest with Zabini and even though he wanted to believe in his friend, something about that place, caused him to break out in a nervous sweat. Anything could happen in there and with Zabini still a questionable excuse for a human being, Albus couldn't quite shake the feeling of dread that had snaked around his chest.

He wondered as he lit his wand tip with a hissing, “Lumos,” if this was what his father had felt when he had been going on his own adventures here. Was the nervous pounding in his chest excitement or fear? A mixture of both perhaps?

Albus wasn't exactly certain but he tried to push it down as he dragged his Hogwarts trunk from underneath his bed with one hand while trying not to fall flat on his butt as he did so.

Scorpious was grumbling around on the other side of the room, probably shoving himself into the thickest sweater he could, the glow of his own wand casting an eerie glow around him. Lavender was most likely preparing to leave as well in the girls' dorm and would meet them down in the common room in a few more minutes, where they would sneak out underneath the Cloak.

After rummaging around inside of his trunk, shoving aside Lily's diary and scattering various dirty socks, Albus finally found his father's gift. It was as fluid as water in his fingers and shined even more brightly underneath his wand light and he gave a sigh of relief before tucking it underneath his arm.

“What are you moaning about over there?” Scorpious demanded.

Albus shot him a look in the darkness. “I wasn't moaning!” Scorpious made a disbelieving noise in the back of his throat. “Come on,” he commanded into the darkness as quietly as he could so as not to wake the others. Elliot farted in his sleep so he supposed he wasn't going to be waking anytime soon, “we've gotta get our coats and stuff on too,”

Scorpious muttered a foul curse but he wandered over to him, tripping a little over what sounded like the squish of a Cauldron Cake. “I've got my coat and everything on,” he said annoyingly and when Albus waved his wand over him, he snickered. Apparently, he had stuffed himself into every coat, sweater, gloves and thick socks that he could, which made him appear three times his normal size. “What?” he demanded.

“Nothing,” Albus said hastily while handing him his Cloak. Scorpious took it with a grumble, looking a little wild in the eyes, “we're just going to go into the Forest and saving Hagrid, all right? We're not gonna camp out in there.”

Scorpious gave him an irritated look that he was sure got on his parent's nerves back at his home. “I'm not _scared_ or anything, all right? I'm just thinking its stupid to worry about Hagrid!” Albus shushed him as Chris Finnegan groaned in his sleep, saying something about how pretty Rose was (Which was annoying) before burying his face in his pillow.

“What do you mean?” Albus demanded annoyingly.

Scorpious waved his arms around, which almost had him teetering backward due to all the clothes he'd packed himself in. After righting himself, he reminded, “He's half- _giant_ , Albus! What are we getting all panicky about?”

There was a pause that was only broken up by Chris proclaiming his everlasting love to Rose that had Scorpious and Albus recoiling in disgust. After he calmed back down and went to snoring again, he found himself saying fiercely. “ _You_ want to know why Zabini is going into the Forest don't you? You want to figure out what he wants that Wolfsbane for and what if he and Hagrid have a fight?”

“Then maybe Hagrid could use his wand on him!” Scorpious said irritably, looking as if his cheeks were turning pink.

Albus figured that he probably should have mentioned that Hagrid couldn't use his wand anymore (He wasn't supposed to anyway but he had a pink umbrella his father said he still carried the pieces around in). “What if he tries to hurt him? Hagrid can't use his wand or anything.”

“Not sure if _you_ noticed Albus, but Hagrid's huge,” Scorpious said dryly and Albus rolled his eyes while he snatched his coat and things from the floor and started shoving himself into them. While Elliot and Chris had laughed at them for doing it, they'd both kept their trainers and clothes on instead of slipping into pajamas, “and there's all sorts of things in the Forest that could kill _us_!”

Albus knew that that was more than true as well but even as he shuddered at the thought of meeting a giant spider, he also grew rather heated at the thought of not doing anything at all. He was tired of not knowing what Zabini was up to, he was so sick and tired of worrying about his friend being murdered by some creature that stole flesh and blood from other kids.

Hogwarts wasn't the best of places in his opinion but he'd like to get through one day without those two things weighing him down. “Well, we'll just have to worry about that when we get there, now won't we?” Lavender's voice asked in that dreamy way of hers, startling them.

Scorpious jumped and made a little squealing noise that had Albus biting on his fist to stop from laughing at him. “Shut up, Albus! And Lav,” he said to the dark shape that was standing in the open doorway, a flood of light trailing behind her, “what are you doing in here? We could have been _naked_!”

Lavender spluttered embarrassingly.

“Why would you be sleeping without any clothes on stupid?” Albus asked him.

Scorpious shrugged. “Benjamin told me that that's how _he_ sleeps and he says that girls like it a lot,” he didn't want to know some of the other things his brother had been telling him. “And he told me that you'll grow faster if you're naked under moonlight or something.”

Albus balked because it was the sort of thing James would have told him. “I hope you know your brother was making fun of you,” he said with a pitying sigh.

Scorpious's pale cheeks flushed around the light of his wand. “Shut up! And anyway, Lav, there may not be any moonlight but I could have been spread out in all my glory in here!” he said in an outraged hiss towards the girl, who'd gone rather stiff.

Albus didn't have to stare too closely at her face with his wand light to know that she was beet red . “I-I'm sorry!” Lavender whispered, covering her eyes. While Scorpious took a moment to compose himself (Albus figured he was thinking of bad things to say to Benjamin when they saw him), their friend asked, “why's it smell like onions in here?”

“Think those are Scorpious's socks,” Albus said while his moody blonde friend glared at him and started stomping his way towards the doorway. Lavender uncovered her eyes and moved out of his way but not before he tugged on her hair before going downstairs. “But you know, the girls' dorm sort of smells too.”

Lavender laughed a little but she didn't deny it and Albus figured that they weren't really as neat as they pretended. After tying his scarf around his neck, he quickly made sure his bed was lumpy enough to fool Chris or Elliot of they woke up and hastily walked out of the dorm with her, shutting the door after them.

“You do know that if we get caught, we'll probably get expelled right, Albus?” Lavender questioned lightly as they made their way downstairs.

Scorpious was pacing near the portrait hole, Albus's Cloak still draped over his arm and sending little silver lights against the walls. “If we get expelled, I'll never hear the end of it from my stupid brother and grandparents,”

“Yeah, well, if we're sneaky, no one will know.” Albus tried to reassure him even as he knew that his family wouldn't be too pleased with him. Uncle Fred and George hadn't graduated but that wasn't the same as being expelled for nosiness, “we'll just be really quick.”

Scorpious looked very doubtful. “We don't even know if Hagrid's in trouble or not!” he reminded Albus angrily. “Don't you think it'd be stupid if we got expelled over something like this?” he asked, glaring at him.

Albus couldn't help but agree even though he was noticing that Lavender didn't look all that worried about being expelled. She was so smart that she could probably survive while he and Scorpious lived out in a cave somewhere with garden gnomes, “We don't know if he needs help or not. That's the point!” he said.

“He's half-giant!” Scorpious spat back.

Albus glared at him in sharp annoyance before saying reasonably. “Let's just go into the Forest long enough to find Hagrid, make sure he's all right and get out.”

Scorpious was giving him a suspicious look and Lavender was glancing between them warily, as if they might launch themselves at each other. “That's not _really_ why you're interested in going in there.” Albus didn't deny it. “I want to know what Zabini is up to, too but I don't feel like dying to try!”

Lavender frowned severely and shot them both a look that instantly had them shutting up. “ _No one_ is going to die, Scorpious. Stop thinking like that! Tonight, we'll save Mr. Hagrid and worry about Zabini some other time and we'll do it _together_.”

“All right,” the boys said in unison, too horrified by the array of female anger to continue their argument at the moment.

Lavender looked more than pleased and proclaimed seriously. “We're Misfits to the bloody, gruesome end.”

Albus blanched, wondering why she looked so happy about it. “Er, I hope it doesn't end _exactly_ like that.”

Scorpious snorted dryly as he moved closer to them, holding out the Cloak impatiently.“Well, if it does, it'd better be bloody worth it.” He snarled right as he tossed the material over their heads, making them invisible to any prying, curious eyes.

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is actually the very first fan fic that I've ever written and holds a special place in my heart. You may notice early on that it's kind of rough and because I'm lazy and horrible at spelling, Scorpius's name has an annoying "O" in it that I never get rid of. I think it sets him apart from other versions of "Scorpius's" out there but that's just me! I hope you guys like this story though, it's a dark comedy that I'm very proud of.


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